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WORSHIP AND WORK. 



f^^m. 




WORSHIP AND WORK 



OR, THE 



Si& 0f Mm. 3nmud ""fflmm, 



HOPKINTON, MASS, 

BY J;^'C?' WEBSTER. 



INTRODUCTION, BY REV. E. DOWSE. 



WRITTEN FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, AND 
APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. 



4V 

BOSTON: 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 

DEPOSITORY, No. 13 CORNHILL. 



»^p^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year I860, by the 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



'in 



S . C H I S M , 
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, 

Hawley Street, corner FrankliB, 

BOSTON. 



THE PEOPLE 

To whom he has so long ministered in the Gospel, 

with the sincere and earnest desire that it may promote 

their good Christian fellowship, and increase the 

activity of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 

is most affettiotiatelg 

I>EDICATED, BY ITS 

A U T E K , 

HoPKiNTON, Aug. 21, 18C0. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
The Statement and Parentage, 

CHAPTER II. 
Religious Trainingand Experience 

CHAPTER III. 
The True Object of Worship. 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Place and Mode of Yv'orship, 

CHAPTER V . 
Christian Work. 



VIU 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 
Self-Discipline. 

CHAPTER VII. 
Reform and Missions. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Culture of Youth. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Sabbath School Superintendence. 

C HAP TER X. 
Superintendence continued. 

CHAPTER XI. 
Superintendence continued. 

CHAP TER XII. 
Superintendence continued. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

COLPORTAGE. 



CONTENTS. 



IX 



CHAPTER XIV. 

COLPORTAGE CONTINUED. 

CHAPTER XV. 
Correspondence. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Correspondence continued. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Correspondence continued. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Correspondence continued. 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Summary. 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Estimate. 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is a great want of this age that the laymen of the 
church should be brought into more active service. They 
are now very generally suiFering from partial inactivity. 
While they bow devoutly before the altar, they do not 
put forth corresponding efforts for the spread of the 
gospel over the earth. They consequently develop an 
imperfect character, and often become spiritually morbid 
and melancholy. If, while they do not diminish aught 
of the spirit, or the form, of prayer^ they should engage 
earnestly in the work of the Lord, they would become 
more symmetrical and cheerful. They would also give a 
new impulse to the cause of religion in the world. Every 
lay member of the church has at least one talent — that 
he may use to advantage in the service of his Master. 
Though he does not stand in the pulpit, nor administer 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 



the ordinances of religion, yet he fills a sphere in which 
he may often speak and act for Christ. Not only so, but 
his whole life may be a series of Christian labors. In 
proportion as these moral forces of the church are brought 
into vigorous exercise, the Christian ministry is relieved 
and assisted in its appropriate work ; the truth is more 
generally and forcibly presented and illustrated to the 
world ; and the cause of religion prospers. We have 
examples of this in every revival of religion. It appears 
evident that there is a work to be done, in converting the 
world to Christ, that can be performed only by the lay 
membership of the church, and that all proper means 
should be used to bring this element into active service. 
We occasionally meet with a layman who combines a spirit 
of devotion with a life of earnest and effective labor. Such 
an one was Harlan Page. Such an one, if we mistake 
not, was the subject of the following memoir. Deacon 
Morse appears to have obeyed the first impulses of life in 
the Christian soul, devoting himself to the worship of 
God, and at the same time to labors for the salvation of 
men. While he was not wanting in the closet, at the 
domestic altar, in the social meeting, and in the sanctu- 
ary, he was diligent in the use of the means in his pos- 



INTRODUCTION. XIU 



session for diffusing the truth of God and winning souls 
to Christ. Personal conversation, the Bible, the tract, 
and epistolary correspondence, were brought into requi- 
sition by him in the prosecution of this work to an extent 
that is by no means common. His personal labors extended 
over many towns, and it is worthy of remark, that his in- 
fluence in all these places was most happy upon the cause 
of Christ. It was his uniform endeavor to strengthen the 
ministry, to unite and arouse the children of God, and to 
lead sinners to repentance. He will long be remembered 
with great interest by his brethren who survive him in 
the towns ; and his influence will remain here for good, 
while his body moulders back to dust, and his spirit lives 
and rejoices with Christ in glory. It is a noticeable fact 
that, when on his dying bed, he selected two passages for 
the discourse at his funeral so descriptive of his life. The 
first was, the words of the Psalmist, " I have loved the 
habitation of thine house." The second was, the injunc- 
tion of the wise man, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to 
do, do it with thy might." This love of the worship of 
God, and his unwearied labors for his cause, could not 
have been expressed in more appropriate language. And 
now, that he is no more with the living, it seems desirable 



XIV 



INTRODUCTION. 



that his memoir should be given to the world, for the 
honor of divine grace, and for an example of what a lay- 
man of common capacities and limited privileges may 
accomplish for his Master, and the salvation of men. It 
is believed that this memoir will be read with interest and 
profit by the children of God, and especially by that large 
circle of Christian friends among whom he so long lived 
and labored. It is published with the hope and prayer 
that it may stimulate others to worship and work^ and 
thus serve to develop the latent energies of the church. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE STATEMENT AND PARENTAGE. 

Everywhere we see variety in unity. The 
works of the divine hand are full of it. The 
forest is one, yet no two trees, branches, 
twigs or leaves are alike. The human fam- 
ily is one, and yet its diversity is endless. 
And the individual man forms no exception. 
He is a perfect unit, but composed of many 
parts. And this is true, whether we con- 
sider body and soul together, or each by it- 
self He divides and subdivides, yet he is 
one. And every division has its correspond- 



16 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



ing faculty and office. The body has its 
parts and each part its appropriate gift. The 
soul has its attributes^ and each attribute its 
peculiar function. And all are adapted to 
work together with a perfect and delightful 
harmony, that infinitely surpasses the best 
adjusted human mechanism. 

This principle of unity in man is primarily 
spiritual, having its origin in the soul, and 
growing out of its relation and supreme obli- 
gation to the one only living and true God, 
in whom is centered the unity of the whole 
world. And it is most delightfully exhibited 
in the performance of two most important 
offices, which perfectly harmonize, and in- 
clude every other, even the minutest opera- 
tion of the human soul. One of these offices 
is fV or slap, which consists of the distinct 
recognition, honor, and reverence for God. 
The other is Worl', — the work that involves 
the obligations and duties between man and 
man ; but dependent upon and springing 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 17 



from the allegiance, which he owes directly 
to the Supreme Object of worship. 

Now we can hardly conceive of a more 
perfect Christian character than one which 
shall combine, in due proportion, these two 
respective offices of worship and work. But 
though we cannot expect to find such a char- 
acter fully realized in the person of any mere 
mortal, we do here and there find a man 
who more nearly approximates to it than 
most of those that profess to be Christians. 
And no examples of such a character are 
more interesting and useful than those whom 
we occasionally meet with in the common 
walks of life. None are more worthy of rec- 
ord than those of faithful Christian laymen. 
Because none bring God and spiritual real- 
ities nearer, and render them more appreci- 
able by the great mass of mankind, who are 
found in the middle and lower grades of 
society. A representative of their own will 

2 



18 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



receive, as he justly merits, more of their 
consideration. 

Such, therefore, are the motives, which 
have led to the publication of the following 
sketch of the life and character of Deacon 
Samuel Morse. He was born of respectable 
parentage, in Hopkinton, Mass., March 1, 
1792, and lived and died on the homestead 
at the age of 67, Sept. 20, 1859. By occu- 
pation, he was a farmer, and his farm a good 
specimen of the old-fashioned homesteads 
scattered here and there over the rural dis- 
tricts, a few miles from the centers of our 
New England villages. He enjoyed but 
meager literary advantages in his youth. 
His education, therefore, was limited. And 
it is not known that he was distinguished at 
all, in early life, from other boys of his age. 
But, as he ripened into manhood, he im- 
bibed an ardent love for the house and the 
vineyard of his Lord and Master. His zeal 
for the sanctuary and service of God was 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 19 



such as to present one of the most striking 
illustrations of a character made up of Chris- 
tian worship and work. And it is in this 
double aspect that it will here be chiefly 
exhibited. 



20 WORSHIP AND WOEK. 



CHAPTEH II. 

RELIGIOUS TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE. 

Religious character naturally first develops 
itself in worship. And^ in the order of 
Divine Providence^ it has its foundation in a 
kind, but strict religious education, sanc- 
tioned, vitalized, and applied by the renew- 
ing influences of the Holy Spirit. First, 
taught to worship by pious guardians in the 
infant prayer, at the domestic altar and the 
public sanctuary ; and then feeling the sacred 
fire kindled in the soul by the hand of God 
himself, the principle of devotion cannot fail 
to constitute the basis of a truly religious 
character, and be its earliest and fullest man- 
ifestation in the life. Of the truth of this 
proposition, Deacon Morse was a fair exam- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 21 



pie. His parents were worthy members of 
the Congregational Church, and devoted 
their children to God in baptism, though, in 
later years, they changed their views, and 
became Baptists. They evidently possessed 
a good deal of the Puritan spirit. In quite 
a copious diary, which Deacon Morse has 
kept for several years, he has thus recorded 
his recollection of their discipline : 

^^ I had a religious education. Though 
there were no Sabbath Schools at that day, 
yet great attention was paid to family gov- 
ernment. Strict observance of the Sabbath 
was maintained. Although my father lived 
four and a half miles from church, as soon 
as we were old enough to ride on a pillion 
or walk, we were obliged to go to meeting. 
Well do I remember the conscientious scru- 
ples of my father and mother, not to allow 
any calls, or receive any company, and to 
get every thing prepared for the Sabbath on 
the evening before. Work was laid aside. 



22 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



and the Bible, and Dr. Emmons', and Dr. 
Hopkins' Sermons were placed upon the 
table. Reading and prayer closed up the 
week. And, at the usual hour of rising, we 
were all called to join in the services of the 
Sabbath." * * * ^^ Well do I remember the 
strivings of the Holy Spirit while in child- 
hood. Often did the sermon take hold of 
my feelings, so that I used to retire to the 
barn to pray. And when we were all gath- 
ered around our mother to say the Assembly's 
Catechism, and hear her read from the old 
Primer, the story of '' Christ, Youth, and 
the Devil ; " and, from the Bible, the stories 
of the '' Forty Wicked Children devoured 
by Bears ; " of " David and Goliah ; " of 
^' Joseph " and " Samuel ; " how many times 
have I turned away and wept, and wished I 
might be good like little Samuel of old ! 
Now, while I write too, I seem to see our 
venerable pastor, the Rev. Nathaniel Howe, 
coming to meet us children at the school- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 23 



house, to hear us repeat the Assembly's 
Catechism. His closing remarks and prayer 
left an impression upon my youthful mind 
like a stamp upon the wax." 

When he was seventeen years old, the 
accidental and sudden death of a very 
wicked young man at the raising of a barn, 
and the solemn exercises at the funeral, 
greatly increased his serious feelings. ^^ But, 
alas," he says, '' after a few weeks, my 
anxiety abated, and the Holy Spirit was 
grieved away. I relapsed by degrees till I 
could join in the gay and mirthful company, 
and throw off all restraint. It seemed as 
though I was a bond slave to the devil. 
His servant I was, and my proud, wicked 
heart seemed to say, ' I will have my fill 
of pleasure.' " 

But about this time God met him again 
very unexpectedly, and in a strange way. 
He and a brother had been to a ball ; and, 
on returning home late and in high glee, 



24 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



his brother was overturned in the carriage 
in which he was riding, and, as it seemed 
to them both, by a merciful providence, just 
escaped sudden death. It put a stop to 
their pleasure seeking. And, in close con- 
nection, as the the deacon has himself re- 
corded it^ ^^ God poured out his Holy Spirit, 
and blessed the labors of our pastor, Eev. 
Nathaniel Howe. * * * He preached a ser- 
mon from these words, ' Wide is the gate 
and broad is the way that leadeth to de- 
struction, and many there be which go in 
thereat.' I felt it addressed to me. Again 
my sins seemed set in order before me. 
For days and weeks my conscience was 
lashed. The terrors of the law were set 
home. I seemed to feel differently from 
what I did before. I saw more clearly 
the justice of God in punishing me. The 
total depravity of my heart was evident 
to me beyond a doubt. I felt it. I could 
not put my finger on one good thing I had 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 25 



ever done. All my life seemed a blank. 
I felt lost, condemned, and justly too. I 
read, I prayed, I attended meetings. But all 
was lost; I thought I was willing, but God 
was unwilling. But I resolved I would not 
give up. If I perished, I would perish beg- 
ging for mercy. At length, mercy came. 
And oh the change ! Oh how happy ! yet 
how unworthy ! The change was sudden. 
The time, the spot, and what I was doing, 
though many years have passed away, are 
still all fresh in mind as though it were but 
yesterday. I went directly to the house, 
took my Bible, and opened to the third 
chapter of Zechariah. I felt that Satan 
had always stood at my right hand to resist 
me ! — that God had rebuked him, and 
plucked me as a brand from the fire ! — taken 
my filthy garments from me, and said unto 
me, ^ Behold, I have caused thine iniquity 
to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with 
change of raiment.' My mind had now 



26 WORSHIP AND WORK. 

found a resting-place. Oli liow precious did 
the Saviour appear ! I wanted to tell every 
body what a Saviour I had found. Now 
every thing seemed new, and every thing 
to be done. I remember the first prayer 
meeting I attended, in Mr. Howe's hall, — 
a monthly meeting of the church, composed 
of old members and formal. But the Lord 
gave me utterance." And then he goes on 
to relate circumstances of an interesting 
awakening among the young people, and the 
good meetings that were held at the house 
of his pastor. He united with the church 
in 1811, and was chosen deacon in 1830, 
which office he retained till his death. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 27 



CHAPTER III. 

THE TRUE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. 

Such an experience as that of Deacon Morse, 
clearly develops the object of pure Christ- 
ian devotion. It must, indeed, involve the 
idea of the Supreme Ruler of the world. 
^^ Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and 
him only shalt thou serve." But it is im- 
possible for created and finite minds to com- 
prehend the infinite Deity. Therefore they 
have invariably sought for some visible and 
tangible object to serve as a medium of com- 
munication. And, uninformed and unen- 
lightened by revelation, they have, in imagi- 
nation, invested countless material objects and 
irrational creatures with the attributes of di- 
vinity, and, in consequence, filled the world 



28 WORSHIP AND WOEK. 



with idolatry. Hence Ave find man every- 
where a worshiper of something under the 
name of deity. It may be an immortalized 
hero, the sun, or the moon, an ox, a croco- 
dile, or the merest grotesque image of wood 
or stone. But it is to him a god. Yet, be- 
cause such idolatry sinks worship into super- 
stition, and can never commend itself "to 
really cultivated mind, too many are disposed 
to reject all worship. And they vainly try 
to substitute abstract reason, or humanity, for 
the only supreme embodiment of them in the 
person of Jesus Christ. For, that very want 
of the human mind for a finite manifestation 
of the true God, our Heavenly Father has 
most mercifully met by taking upon himself 
'^ a true body and a reasonable soul " in the 
person of his only begotten Son. So that 
genuine Christian worship involves the rec- 
ognition of the divine in connection with 
the human of Jesus Christ our Lord. To 
this end, evidently, he w^as heralded as the 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 29 



object of heavenly adoration. As it is writ- 
ten, ^^ "When he bringeth the First Begotten 
into the world, he saith^ ^And let all the 
angels of God worship him.' " And the 
revelator said, '^ I beheld, and I heard the 
voice of many angels round about the throne, 
and the beasts, and the elders : and the num- 
ber of them was ten thousand times ten thou- 
sand, and thousands of thousands ; saying, 
with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that 
was slain to receive power, and riches, and 
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, 
and blessing. And every creature, which is in 
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, 
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in 
them, heard I saying. Blessing, and honor, 
and glory, and power, be unto him that sit- 
teth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb 
forever and ever. And the four and twenty 
elders fell down and worshiped him that liv- 
eth forever and ever." 

It would seem therefore that full divine 



30 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



honor and worship belong to Christ, and that 
God is to be truly worshiped in him. But 
especially does man, as a sinner, find the de- 
mands of his fallen nature met in the Christ 
of the Bible. And it is the experience of 
this glorious truth, which enables him every- 
where, and in all ages, to exclaim, ^' I know 
that my Eedeemer liveth," and as did 
Thomas, when he felt the print of the nails 
and the spear, ^Oly Lord, and my God,^^ 
It brings the just and gracious God at once 
to the level of the humblest capacity. The 
farmer, the mechanic, the laborer, and even 
the child, in common with the profoundest 
philosopher, under a sense of sin and need of 
pardon, though he cannot comprehend the 
mystery, realizes in Christ him who is able 
to supply the greatest spiritual necessity of 
his soul. Therefore, he feels that he must 
be the proper object of his most devout ado- 
ration. For, ^^ who can forgive sins but God 
only ? " And to such as have no hope and 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 31 



are without God in the world, his anxious 
exhortation has been beautifully and forcibly 
expressed in the language of the sacred poet : 

»' Sinners, wrung with true repentance, 
Doomed to guilt and endless pains, 
Justice now revokes the sentence, 
Mercy calls you ; break your chains ; 
Come and worship. 
Worship Christ; the new born King." 



33 WOIISHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE PLACE AND MODE OF WORSHIP. 

A TRUE Christian experience constitutes the 
soul itself a temple of the Holy Ghost where 
the spirit of worship always dwells. But 
while the soul is in the body^ it constitution- 
ally demands a place and form of worship. 
And it will consecrate particular localities 
and ceremonies to the purposes of devotion. 
The superstitious perversion of this princi- 
ple has led to the seclusion of the nunnery 
and the cloister, the public resort to the 
grove or the temple, and the profusion of 
external rites, all of which is but a counter- 
part of a cold and formal '^ going to meeting*'^^ 
And both are equally removed from all ac- 
ceptable worship. But the genuine Chris- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 33 



tian, guided by a sanctified and enlightened 
affection, is satisfied with such places and 
modes of worship as consist with his private, 
social, and public relations and duties, and 
are best adapted to inspire lively and sincere 
devotion. Like Jacob, he will wrestle with 
God alone in his closet, or some sequestered 
shade. Like Abraham, he will offer up the 
choicest of his household on his family altar. 
And in the social circle for prayer, he will 
delight to claim the promise of Jesus Christ, 
that ^^ where two or three are gathered to- 
gether in my name, there am I in the midst 
of them." But in no place will he rejoice 
more than in the public sanctuary, — ^^ the 
place which the Lord hath chosen to put his 
name there ! " His feelings are well ex- 
pressed by David where he said, '^ I was glad 
when they said unto me. Let us go into the 
house of the Lord." ^^ One thing have I 
desired of the Lord ; that will I seek after; 
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord 



34 WORSHIP AXD WORK. 



all the days of my life^ to behold the beauty 
of the Lord^ and to inquire in his temple." 
For ^^ how amiable are thy tabernacles, O 
Lord of hosts ! My soul longeth, yea, even 
fainteth, for the courts of the Lord." 

And there are few more devoted practical 
examples of such worship among Christians 
of our day than that furnished in the life of 
Deacon Morse. We have seen that, in his 
childhood and youth, he was trained by his 
parents to go to the house of God. Those, 
indeed, were the days when the right and 
duty of parents to enjoin it upon their chil- 
di'en to accompany them to the sanctuary 
were unquestioned. " We took sweet coun- 
sel together, and walked unto the house of 
God in company." Our Samuel, therefore, 
like his scriptural namesake, having been 
consecrated to the Lord by his parents, early 
formed the habit of worship. A mother's 
private instructions, a father's family prayers, 
and their constant attendance upon the 



WORSHIP A^^D wo:rk. 6d 



services of the sanctuary, servecl^ in liis 
mind, to incorporate very deeply the idea of 
worship with that of Christian character. So 
that, when he himself became a disciple, the 
faithful performance of the duty became all 
the more easy and delightful. He loved the 
place of prayer. He had his regular time 
and place of secret devotion. But he was 
not confined to such. It was not unusual 
for him to repair to the barn or the woods 
for prayer. Sometimes he would stop by 
the roadside, or when at work in his field, 
and kneel down and pray. Few have more 
deeply felt, and faithfully illustrated, the ob- 
ligation enjoined by our Saviour, ^^ that men 
ought always to pray, and not to famt." 
Neither were any more fond of social wor- 
ship. And, through the whole period of his 
Christian life, he was in the habit of attend- 
ing extra, as well as the regular, meetings for 
social prayer and conference. All parts of 
the tovrn vrere witnesses to his early zeal. 



36 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



together with that of his faithful and even 
more judicious coadjutor, Deacon Elijah 
Fitch, who went with him from house to 
house, and from district to district, holding 
meetings, and exhorting their fellow citizens 
to repentance and the duties of religion. 
Frequently, returning from his field too late 
to eat his supper, would he take his lunch- 
eon in his hands, mount his horse, and be 
off to some evening appointment. But in 
no respect was his love for worship more 
marked than by his attachment to the public 
sanctuary. He loved the house of God. 
And the distance, four and a half miles, 
which he lived from public meeting, fur- 
nished him an unusual opportunity of test- 
ing and exhibiting that love. For, notwith- 
standing the distance, he was a constant at- 
tendant. Scarcely a dozen times in his life 
was he absent from the house of God on the 
Sabbath, except for sickness, or other una- 
voidable circumstance. Calculating, there- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 37 



fore^ for the forty-eight years that he was 
an honored member of the churchy he must 
have traveled, to attend pubUc worship, 
more than twenty-two thousand miles. It 
would be a low estimate to suppose that, for 
three quarters of the time, he returned to 
the third meeting, which would make six- 
teen thousand miles more. And then, if we 
add a similar sum for the attendance of at 
least one meeting in the center of the town 
during the week, which is undoubtedly with- 
in the truth, and we have an aggregate of 
more than fifty-five thousand miles that he 
traveled, after he became a Christian, to 
attend public and social worship. To this, 
we might probably add with safety ten thou- 
sand more, that he traveled with his parents 
during his minority, and afterwards to meet 
his engagements in different sections of the 
town. The road, too, upon which he lived 
for a mile or more, is very apt to be filled 



38 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 



in with drifting snows in the winter. And 
many a time would he walk and wallow 
through the untrodden snow, where others 
deemed it imprudent and even rash to make 
the attempt. And when he was in the 
house of God, he was devout, and drank in 
the truth like water. When others, and 
some good but hard laboring men would, in 
spite of themselves, yield to sleep, he was 
wide awake, and his ears were open to catch 
every word of the gospel message. And all 
because of his anxiety and earnest prayer, 
that, as the divinely appointed means of 
grace, it might be blessed to the conversion 
of the impenitent in the congregation. With 
this love for public worship constituting so 
large an element of his piety, it was most 
natural, when he came to die, that he should 
find consolation in being able to say, with 
the Psalmist, '' Lord, I have loved the hab- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 39 



itatlon of thy house, and the place where 
thine honor dwelleth/' and that he should 
choose this as the first part of a theme for 
his funeral discourse. 



40 



WOPvSHIP AND WORK, 



C II A P T E E V . 



CHRISTIAN WORK. 



It is true that Christian worship is work ; 
because it is something to be done. But all 
Christian work is not worship. Our rela- 
tions, both to God and man, demand work in 
distinction from worship. Hence the in- 
spired direction, ^^ Whatsoever thy hand find- 
eth to do, do it with thy might." Christ, 
also, is represented as sending his disciples 
into a vineyard to work. And, ^^ The field 
is the world." 

But God requires of man, in this respect, 
only what he does himself. For God is the 
great Worker of the universe. " The heavens 
declare the glory of God, and the firmament 
showeth his handy work." '' In the begin- 



WORSHIP AND WOUK. 41 



ning God created the heavens and the earth." 
And he still upholds and governs all things 
by the word of his power. The Lord Jesus 
Christ, too, is a worker. He was united with 
the Father in the creation of the world. As 
it is written of him, " In the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word was with God, and 
the Word was God. The same was in the 
beginning with God. All things were made 
by him, and without him was not any thing 
made that was made." He said himself, 
^' And many good works have I showed you 
from my Father." ^^ My Father worketh 
hitherto, and I work." Again, '^ My meat 
is to do the will of him that sent me, and to 
finish his work." And, '' Wist ye not that 
I must be about my Father's business ? " 
But the great work of Christ was that of 
human redemption. It was a great work to 
speak the world from nothing ; but it was 
greater to redeem. And this Christ did by 
his advent, sufierings, and death upon the 



43 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



cross. Redemption, then, being his peculiar 
work, it furnishes the key to the specific work 
of his disciples. As we work with God, in 
accordance with his natural laws, in order to 
obtain food, raiment, and temporal comfort ; 
so, if we would be the disciples of Christ, 
and secure the benefits of redemption, we 
must work in accordance with the principles 
and precepts of the gospel. One may be very 
diligent, laborious, and successful, in procur- 
ing temporal good, and yet never perform a 
single Christian deed, and, consequently, lose 
his soul. Christian work, therefore, is work 
for Christ. It is work in his line. It is the 
application of the peculiar principles of his 
gospel for the special purpose of saving the 
souls of men. 

Hence the exhortation, ^^ Whatsoever thy 
hand findeth to do, do it vvith thy might," 
does not mean, as the conduct of multitudes 
would seem to indicate, ^^ Get all the money 
you can, — by fair means, if possible, — at 



WORSHIP AND WOUK. 43 



any rate, get it." Neither does it mean to 
acquire^ even by the most honest effort^ mere 
worldly property at all. But it can only 
mean, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do " 
for Christ, — for him who died to redeem 
the world from sin, and in the use of the in- 
strumentalities which he has prescribed, — 
this " do with thy might." Christ is the 
Master in the prosecution of this work. His 
honor is the highest end to be secured. 

The connection then between worship and 
work is apparent. The spirit of worship is 
the spirit with which work should be done. 
And true worship is essential to true work. 
The truest and sincerest worshiper, is the most 
faithful and earnest worker. Worship begets 
work. Worship is the fountain whence flow 
the streams of religious industry. And, as 
man was made for worship, it is no less true 
that he was made for work. Work, there- 
fore, must accompany worship. And, if there 
were more worship, there would be more 



44 WOUSHIP AND WORK. 



work. The great reason, most probably, why- 
there is so little work for Christ, is, that 
there is so little of the true idea and spirit of 
worship. Work for Christ is much in pro- 
portion to devotion to him. And the work 
that is done for him is comparatively power- 
less, because it is prompted and accompanied 
by so little of the spirit of devotion. More 
devout worship would doubtless make even 
a less amount of work more effectual. Not, 
however, that there is too much work, but 
not enough of worship. And with more 
worship of the only true God, we should 
have more work done and more accomplished 
for Christ. There would be more that would 
tell directly on the spread of the gospel and 
the evangelization of the world. More love 
for prayer and the sanctuary would prompt 
to more efficient labor in the vineyard of the 
Lord. 

Now, a proper sense of individual and 
personal responsibility is essential to the 



WORSHIP AND WORK. ^ 45 



faithful performance of the Christian work. 
^^ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do/' does 
not mean the hand of some one else. It is 
addressed to each and every individual. 
Neither does it mean that thy hand is only 
one of a class or a multitude^ who must all 
work together before responsibility can attach 
to any one person in particular. But it is as 
if each and every one were specifically desig- 
nated. ^' Whatsoever thy hand^" without re- 
gard to the hand of any other, or whether 
any other does anything or not. ^^ Whatso- 
ever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
might." Joshua realized and expressed 
the idea when he said, '^ As for me and my 
house, we will serve the Lord." No matter 
what any one or all others may or may not do, 
the Christian's work is decidedly a personal 
work, since ^^ every one of ns shall give 
an account of himself to God." 

Again, the Christian work involves a de- 
termination to do somethingy though it be not 



46 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



always what Is most desirable. It is not un- 
common to find persons who decline this or 
that occupation^ though it be all that presents 
itself, because it is not just what they would 
prefer. A young man, perhaps, just setting 
out in life, wants to be a farmer, mechanic, 
merchant, or a professional man. But, be- 
cause his way seems hedged up for lack of 
means, or proper qualifications, he sits down, 
folds his hands, and promises to accomplish 
nothing in the world. Every true friend 
exhorts him by all means to do something. 
Be a hod-carrier, or a wood-sawyer, if no- 
thing more. Anything is both more useful 
and respectable than nothing. Now it would 
seem that there are some who profess to be 
Christians, who need a similar exhortation. 
They apparently refuse to engage in the work 
of the Lord, because they cannot do what 
they choose. Perhaps one refuses to be a 
minister because he cannot be a metropolitan 
bishop, or a Sabbath School teacher because 



WOESHIP AND WORK. 47 



he cannot be a minister. Because he is fitted 
to do only some humble service, he refrains 
from doing anything at all. He is not wil- 
ling to do just what he can. And he pleads 
his inability or incapacity. But, who is so 
incapable that he can do nothing ? Because 
he has not five or ten talents to improve, let 
him beware of the doom of the unworthy 
servant, who hid his lord's money, though it 
were only one talent, in the earth. The 
truth is, every one can do something. If he 
cannot be a foreign missionary, he may be 
one at home. If he cannot be a distinguish- 
ed minister of a city church, he may be a 
useful and far happier one in some retired 
country parish. If he cannot be even such 
a minister, he may be a successful Sabbath 
School teacher, or a tract distributer. He 
may, at least, tell his unconverted friends 
that he loves Jesus, and wishes everybody 
else would do the same. And if one cannot 
give in charity such large sums as to attract 



48 WORSHir AND WORK. 



the popular applause, he can cast his two 
mites into the treasury, which may be more 
than the abundance of others. Would any 
one, therefore, know whether he is or would 
be a Christian ? Let him ascertain whether 
he is willing to work, and, if need be, per- 
form the most menial service for Christ. 
Would he, like the Psalmist, be no more 
than ^' a door-keeper in the house of the 
Lord ? " Would he, like the great Master 
himself, " wash the disciples' feet ? " Christ- 
ian — sinner — whoever you are, do some- 
thing, '' Whatsoever thy hand findeth to 
do, do it." 

Finally, the Christian work implies ear- 
riestness. The weightiest considerations re- 
quire the Christian to be in earnest. What 
he does should be done with all his might. 
Nothing is more incompatible with Chris- 
tian character than slothfulness or indiffer- 
ence. The Christian work is the last to be 
slighted. It demands a zeal bordering, in 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 49 



view of the uninitiated, on fanaticism. It 
Calls for the most faithful exercise of the 
greatest talent. And still there is a place 
for the use of the smallest. It is a great 
work, because it is the work of God. And 
the "king's business requireth haste." Nay, 
it is God's peculiar work. Since it is to 
carry out the redemption of a lost world. 
And, therefore, it is one of infinite moment 
to man. The soul ! — and oh, were there 
but one immortal soul to be saved or lost, 
according to the faithfulness or unfaithful- 
ness of Christian effort, it would be reason 
enough to call out the utmost energies of the 
whole Christian world. When, therefore, 
we consider that the eternal interests of count- 
less millions are in peril, who can estimate 
the demand for Christian zeal ? An indo- 
lent Christian ! The very idea is most in- 
congruous. Besides, there is but a little 
while to labor at all. Though no limited 
time, however long, can compare with eter- 

4 



50 WORSHIP AND WOllK. 



nity^ it is not as though we had thousands or 
millions of ages in which to labor. But oh, 
when we reflect how brief is the span of this 
life, and yet that it is all we have to work in 
for Christ and the salvation of souls, what a 
motive to be in earnest ! It was the very 
one that Christ himself presented to his dis- 
ciples, that the night of death soon cometh 
when no man can work. 

Such, then, is the nature, and such are 
some of the elements of the Christian work, 
which preeminently characterize the piety 
of our own age of the world. And few per- 
sons, especially in the humbler walks of life, 
have furnished, in their lives, better exam- 
ples of it than Deacon Morse. We might 
naturally expect this from such a worshiper. 
His great zeal for Christian worship begot a 
corresponding zeal for Christian work. Much 
of his work, indeed, was involved in his wor- 
ship. But the specific methods of its devel- 
opment remain to be considered. And it 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 51 



was only the culminating expression of tliis 
feature of his religion^ when he suggested^ 
as the second part of the theme of his funeral 
discourse^ ^^ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to 
do^ do it with thy might." 



52 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER VI 



SELF-DISCIPLINE. 



The departments^ in wliich the Christian 
may find ample opportunity to work for the 
Great Master, are various. The first that 
naturally presents itself to him is found in 
the sphere of his own heart. The work 
which it calls for is self-discipline. Its faith- 
ful performance is essential to the Christian's 
personal life and growth. It is fundamental 
to his success in every other department of 
labor. Neither is it an easy task. ^^ He 
that is slow to anger is better than the 
mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit than he 
that taketh a city." And, in the case of 
Deacon Morse, perhaps in no sphere did his 
work tell to greater advantage than on his 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 53 



own heart. V/ere it desirable and necessa- 
ry to our purpose^, it would not be difficult 
to specify defects in his natural constitution. 
For we are by no means sketching one of 
those perfect characters with which we some- 
times meet in narrative, but are not fortu- 
nate enough to find in actual life. Besides 
the frailties which fall to the common lot of 
mankind J he had his peculiarities. It is 
enough, however, to say, that his tempera- 
ment was unusually sanguine and passion- 
ate. He lacked the breadth of view, or men- 
tal scope, attendant upon a better education 
and early opportunity to become acquainted 
with the world. So that his judgment some- 
times misled him. But these circumstances 
only caused his Christian graces to stand out 
all the more prominently. For, in order to 
form a proper estimate of any one's character, 
it is the better way to compare him with 
himself. And, by so doing, w^e find that it 
is more of a virtue in some than others to 



54 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



be consistent Christians^ because they have 
more in themselves with which to contend. 
From such a point of view Deacon Morse 
is worthy of high Christian esteem. With his 
naturally quick disposition and habit, which 
none deplored more than himself, he yielded, 
in a remarkable degree, to the requirements 
of Christian principle. While yet a young 
man, the war of 1812 with Great Britain 
was declared, and he was drafted as a sol- 
dier, and stationed at Fort Independence in 
Boston Harbor. There, indeed, he had a 
rare opportunity to become acquainted with 
some of the harder features of human de- 
pravity, and one which brought his religious 
principle to a severe test. But it would 
seem that even there he did not compromise 
his principles. He kept up his habits of 
devotion and his personal labor with his 
compatriots to induce them, if possible, to 
become the soldiers of the great Captain of 
salvation. At first, he says, he could hardly 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 55 



be reconciled to his condition^ and he " be- 
grudged the happiness of those who were 
rich enough to get a furlough to go home." 
" But/' he continues^ '^ God fits the seasons 
to the shorn lamb. I found now and then a 
disciple of Jesus, and we soon had about a 
half dozen, among the hundreds stationed at 
the fort, who had kindred feelings, and we 
used sometimes to steal away from service 
and hold prayer meetings. God had a work 
to be done in the camp. For soon two un- 
fortunate young men were tried and con- 
demned to be shot for desertion. We had 
liberty to visit them in their cells. One of 
them gave evidence that he died a Chris- 
tian. The other was pardoned." 

It was not long, however, that young Morse 
had to perform military duty. For, after 
being at the fort five weeks, he was acci- 
dentally shot in the leg and returned home. 
A painful surgical operation was necessary ; 
pieces of bone were extracted, and others 



66 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



worked out afterward, and it was ten years 
before the wound was healed. For this mis- 
fortune he received a pension of sixty-four 
dollars a year the remainder of his life. But 
the circumstance is alluded to chiefly to show 
under what disabilities he performed his 
great amount of voluntary labor, consisting 
much of it in foot travel, in the service of 
his divine Master. Most others would have 
thought it quite sufficient reason for doing 
less. 

His self-discipline also was exemplified in 
his readiness to adopt habits of personal ref- 
ormation. Like other farmers of that day, 
he was accustomed to the moderate use of 
intoxicating drink. But when the Chris- 
tian sentiment of the country began to 
require total abstinence, he was among the 
first to comply. His moral principle, how- 
ever, was brought to its severest test by the 
abandonment of tobacco. He had imbibed 
a much stronger relish for that filthy weed 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 57 



than for intoxicating drink^ and had been a 
long time a slave to the appetite. But^ when 
once convinced that he was doing wrong by 
its indulgence^ — nor did it take a long 
course of labor to convince him^ — he was 
'^ easy to be entreated : " — he made no 
compromise with his passion^ but at once set 
about the work of reformation^ and through 
a great fight of affliction^ he conquered. This 
he used to call his great victory. He has 
recorded the account of his struggle in these 
words : '^ I knew it hurt my influence as a 
Christian and a temperance man. Used to 
calm the lashings of conscience by leaving 
off a little while. But the hankering over- 
came my good desires^ and I would begin 
again. So I went on for thirty-one years. 
At length I resolved, sink or swim, live or 
die, I would be a free man. And God 
enabled me to persevere. And from May, 
1849, to this day, January, 1858, not a par- 
ticle of the accursed weed has defiled my 



58 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 



lips." Nor did it afterwards. And, though 
he had his faults, which marred his relig- 
ious influence, the great self-sacrifice which 
a denial of his appetite and passion called 
him to make, was a strong proof of his 
Christian principle and thoroughness of his 
work of self-discipline. 



« 






WORSHIP AND WORK. 59 



CHAPTER y II. 

REFORM AND MISSIONS. 

From such an experience and discipline as 
that of Deacon Morse it is easy to see how- 
he should become a thorough disciple and 
zealous helper in the general work of Chris- 
tian reform and missions. For he early 
learned that not only impenitent sinners 
need regeneration^ but that Christians need 
sanctification^ — that process of growing in 
grace^ the evidence and genuineness of which 
necessarily involves a corresponding external 
reformation. Therefore, in the temperance 
reform, he followed cheerfully in the lead of 
Edwards, Beecher, Hewitt, and others. And 
he was a hearty friend of labors to banish the 
use of tobacco from the community. Be- 



60 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



cause he ^Yas convinced that both the alco- 
holic and narcotic poisons^ when used for the 
mere gratification of the appetite^ are vast 
hindrances to Christian enjoyment and use- 
fulness. 

In 1853^ he wrote a zealous laborer in the 
anti-tobacco cause^ as follows : 

'^ Brother^ — It seems to me there is great 
want of interest on this subject. I know 
you commenced alone^ and have had to shove 
up hill all the way. But do n't get dis- 
couraged. The subject is beginning to be 
considered^ and^ like all other reforms, will 
require time. Experience has taught you 
and me that it is not of much use to try to 
reclaim an old tobacco-chewer or smoker. 
But the children, — yes, the children, — 
there is hope for them. Get them pledged, 
and often remind them of it j — get school 
teachers to attend to it, and we shall soon 
secure an anti-tobacco community." 

He was deeply sympathetic. His feel- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 61 



ings were easily excited. He was always 
ready^ not only to listen to but answer the 
appeals of suffering humanity. He was 
therefore a constant patron of the cause of 
seamen. None prayed more fervently or 
gave more cheerfully to ameliorate the con- 
dition of the weather-beaten sailor. So too 
the poor suffering slave ever found in him 
an ardent friend. He was among the first to 
feel and lend his aid in the cause of emanci- 
pation. In his simplicity^ he could not see 
any great difference between the foreign and 
domestic slave trade, or between slavehold- 
ing and other sins^ unless it be in the greater 
enormity of claiming the right to hold prop- 
erty in man. And in the days of abolition 
agitation and conflict, he was on the side of 
the oppressed. He sighed also over the 
apathy of Christians and the Christian 
churches of our land as to the great sin of 
slavery. And he rejoiced in the humblest 
effort to detach them from all responsible 



62 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



connection with it, as the only peaceful 
method of securing the freedom of the en- 
slaved, and avoiding a terrible revolution, 
which must otherwise, sooner or later, del- 
uge our land in blood. For he trembled for 
his country when he read the words of the 
prophet, " Shall I not visit for these things ? 
saith the Lord ; and shall not my soul be 
avenged on such a nation as this ? " 

His sympathies also were deeply enlisted 
in behalf of the superstitious vassals of the 
'' man of sin." And no appeals ever took 
stronger hold of his feelings than those 
which were made in behalf of the ^^ Amer- 
ican and Foreign Christian Union." So 
that contributions to its treasury were, at 
times, increased by his specific and personal 
applications. Still it w^ould be difficult to 
tell in what other cause of Christian benev- 
olence he was any the less interested. In 
fact, the Education, Tract, Bible, or what- 
ever other society for the evangelization of 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 63 



mankind was presented to his notice^ it 
seemed to him^ for the time being, the most 
important. And he caught the missionary 
spirit in connection with the very rise of 
modern missions^ which took place fifty years 
ago in our New England churches just pre- 
vious to his conversion. He wrote in his 
journal : '' In 1812^ the first American mis- 
sionaries were sent forth, — Newell, Jud- 
son, Nott, and Rice. Oh, it was a glorious 
enterprise ! The year following, I think, 
Eice returned home. I heard him preach in 
the Center Schoolhouse from these words, 
^^ And they presented unto him gifts, gold, 
frankincense and myrrh." From that time 
a missionary spirit was kindled in my soul." 
Hence we learn the reason why Henry Mar- 
tyn and Samuel Mills were two favorite 
names, which he attached to his twin chil- 
dren. Of course they were household words 
together with those of Judson, Thurston, 
and Bingham. But, as a layman, no one 



61 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



appeared to him so much like the very pattern 
of Christian excellence as Harlan Page, 
whom^ next to his Saviour and the apostle 
Paul^ he seemed to keep constantly before 
his mind. He partook largely of a similar 
spirit^ and emulated his example. The bur- 
den of his heart was to do good^ according 
to his ability^ to the souls of men. If the 
Lord had made it plainly his duty, and 
opened the way, he would have cheerfully 
gone to the ends of the earth in the service 
of the Great Master. And in perfect keep- 
ing with such a spirit, and as it were the last 
impression which he would leave upon the 
minds of his friends, at his own particular 
request, they sung, at his funeral, the Mis- 
sionary Hymn : 

^' From Greenland's icy mountains/' 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 65 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CULTURE OF YOUTH. 

No department in the order of nature has 
prior claims upon Christian philanthropy to 
that of childhood. Heathenism and idola- 
try are ^^ without natural affection." And 
the new dispensation was heralded as one 
that should '^ turn the hearts of the fathers 
to the children." Hence there is no way in 
which the Christian can better meet its de- 
mands, and exhibit the likeness of its divine 
Founder, who ^' took little children in his 
arms and blessed them." In this regard 
Deacon Morse was a commendable example. 
He labored in various ways, and with much 
zeal, for the spiritual good of children. He 
strove to win their attention and confidence. 



66 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



This he did by stopping them frequently in 
the streets, saying a few kind words, giving 
them little books, pennies, and sweetmeats. 
It was also a favorite plan with him to visit 
the district schools, both in his own and the 
neighboring towns. Obtaining leave of the 
teacher, he would, from a deep conviction of 
his own literary deficiency, exhort the pupils 
to diligence in study, habits of virtue, and a 
hearty self-consecration to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. On those visits he would also dis- 
tribute tracts, and administer the temperance 
pledge, which covered an obligation to ab- 
stain from the use of tobacco, as well as in- 
toxicating drinks. And sometimes his ad- 
dresses were to scholars of larger growth, 
and, in our high schools, would possess a 
remarkable pertinence. 

In this connection the inquiry naturally 
arises, how did he train his own household ? 
Were his own children, as might be ex- 
pected, patterns of piety and filial obe- 



WORSHIP AND WOEK. 67 



dience ? Now, in order to be true to fact, it 
cannot be stated that, in these respects, they 
were distinguished above other children. 
While, however, like too many others, they 
did not become Christians in early child- 
hood, it is not known that they were more 
thoughtless or wayward than the children of 
many other good Christian parents. None 
will be slower to accuse him of unfaithful- 
ness than his own children. In full remem- 
brance of his earnest prayers, his oft- 
repeated, and perhaps occasionally ill-timed 
entreaties and rebukes, they will ever say 
that it was no fault of his that they did 
not sooner give their hearts to Christ. For 
it is now worthy of record, that, while some, 
even from very early life, have indulged the 
Christian hope, the good man, during his 
few last years, had the unspeakable pleas- 
ure of seeing all his children but two out of 
eight, after ripening into manhood, honor- 
ing a public profession of religion. And, 



68 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



since he is faithful who hath promised, the 
good man died believing strongly that he 
will yet make the remainder heirs of his 
kingdom. 

But the principal sphere of Deacon Morse's 
usefulness in behalf of youth was the Sab- 
bath School. He was among the very first 
of the brethren to enlist in the work. When 
a few pious females in the church gathered 
the first class in the year 1817, he was ready 
to second their efforts. A small school was 
organized, and his faithful senior coadjutor. 
Deacon Elijah Fitch, was the first superin- 
tendent. And Deacon Morse was a con- 
stant and faithful teacher in the Sabbath 
School for more than twenty years, till 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 69 



CHAPTER IX. 

SABBATH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENCE. 

In 1838^ Deacon Fitch having resigned the 
office of superintendent, which he had held, 
to the great acceptance of the church from 
the organization of the school, Deacon Morse 
was chosen to fill his place. And this he 
continued to do eighteen years, till .1856, 
when his infirmities compelled him to re- 
sign. During his whole term of office, he 
discharged his duties with remarkable fidel- 
ity. His administration was very success- 
ful. It was particularly distinguished for its 
Christian charities. There were few Sab- 
bath Schools in the Commonwealth, during 
the time, that contributed so much annually 
and mainly through his unwearied efibrts to 



70 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



send libraries and other missionary offerings 
to the destitute fields of the West. But, as 
an illustration of his work in this depart- 
ment, "we cannot do better than to give a 
few specimen extracts from the annual re- 
ports, which he was accustomed to make to 
the church, at the reorganization of the 
school in the spring of the year. 

For 1844-5, he said : ^^ In reviewing my 
reports, I find that the school in the three 
first years of my superintendence averaged 
about 150 ; in the year 1842 the average 
was 2JL4 ; in the year 1843 the average was 
239 ; and in 1844 it has been 259. * * 
The average attendance of the infant class 
was 47. In July and August, the school 
was fullest ; the greatest number in attend- 
ance was 291, August 3 ; the least was 70, 
March 2. The number of teachers in the 
school 25; average attendance 21. 

^^ In looking over the list of teachers, I find 
some have been very punctual in attendance. 



WORSHIP AND WOKK. 71 



I find no mark of absence against Nos. 7, 
15, and 18. I find that Nos. S, 8, 11, have 
been absent two Sabbaths each. Others have 
been absent from three to eleven Sabbaths. 
Mrs. P., vrho had long and faithfully in- 
structed a class, by ill health was obliged to 
give it up, and Miss J — A— took her 
place. Mr. B— left his class, and Mr. O — 
S — took his place. In November, Mr. 
D — E — was chosen librarian, and left a 
flourishing class to Mr. J — S— . * * * 

^^ Your superintendent has occupied this 
place six and a half years. I feel that I 
have a responsible place to fill ; that, in a 
great measure, the future destiny of many 
precious souls is committed to my care ; that 
the prosperity, happiness and usefulness of 
a Sabbath School depend very much, 
under God, upon the superintendent. He 
must love his work, he must have the 
confidence and cooperation of the teach- 
ers, the love of the scholars, to make him 



72 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



acceptable. He must be a holy man ; a man 
of prayer ; apt to teach. 

'^ In reviewing the past, I have much to 
mourn. Glory to God and love to souls 
have not always filled my heart. I feel that 
I have not done what I ought to have done 
to save souls. Notwithstanding, the Lord 
has stood by me, and strengthened me. And 
by the aid of faithful preaching, and the 
hearty cooperation of teachers, we have not 
labored in vain during the six and a half 
years that I have had the charge of the school. 
Two teachers and eighty-four scholars of our 
school have professed a hope in Christ and 
united with our church. During this time, 
your superintendent has been absent from 
the school nine Sabbaths, — three of them 
absent from town ; two sick ; four of them 
were stormy. During this time, also, twelve 
teachers have left town. Three teachers 
and twelve scholars have died. Mrs. Vose, 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 73 



Mrs. Spear^ and Mrs. Claflin will live long 
in the memory of this school. 

" The first Sabbath in May, the school reor- 
ganized. Mr. W — addressed the school on the 
duty of studying the Bible, and then testing 
our belief and sincerity by our liberality. And 
I trust he labored not in vain. The school 
has given more the past year than for five 
and a half years past. Our old library, 
prized at eleven dollars and thirty-seven 
cents, was purchased by S. D. D., Esq., and 
sent to the West. The school has sent out 
ten libraries, costing one hundred and eight 
dollars, making, with the eleven dollars and 
thirty-seven cents, for the old library, one 
hundred and nineteen dollars and thirty- 
seven cents. Last fall we purchased a new 
library of three hundred volumes, together 
with apparatus costing eighty-five dollars 
and forty-eight cents. The whole sum, 
therefore, raised by the school, has been 



74 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



two hundred and four dollars and eighty- 
five cents. 

^^ The following sums have been received 
from each class^ as near as I recollect : 
No. 1, $2.36. No. 3, $IM. No. 3, $11. 
No. 4, $2.38. No. 6, $1.52. No. 6, $8. 
No. 7, $1.51. No. 8, $2.62. No. 9, 
$1.30. No. 10, $5,03. No. 11, $4.67. 
No. 12, $1.40. No. 13, $1.83. No. 14, 
$2.88. No. 15, $7.81. No. 17, $1.22, 
No. 18, $1.55. No. 19, $3.26. No. 20, 
$1.11. No. 21, $5.22. No. 22, $4.59. 
No. 23, $10.10. No. 24, 92 cents. No. 
25, $20.13. Infant Class, $5.50. 

^^ Now I want to ask those who have con- 
tributed monthly and liberally, whether they 
are any the poorer, and those who have with- 
holden, whether they are any the richer. 

'^ Well do I remember the sparkling eye 
and the beaming countenance of a little boy, 
after school was dismissed, handing me six 
cents, saying two were for himself and two for 



WOESHIP AND WOUK. 75 



each of his little brothers. There is another 
little boy who never goes to meeting without 
a cent to put in the box. And never shall I 
forget that young man^ who^ the last time I 
ever saw him as I stood on the meeting- 
house steps, came up to me and said, ^^ I 
am going to leave town/' and gave me fifty 
cents for the West, and then turned and bent 
his steps across the common ; — what a me- 
morial, — a token of love to the school ! 

^^A few weeks since, I proposed a few 
questions to the teachers, which most of 
them have promptly answered and afforded 
me much gratification. 

'^ One teacher says : ^ Eight of her class 
contribute occasionally and four monthly.' 
Another says : ^ One indulges hope in 
Christ ; some contribute monthly ; and some 
not at all.' Still another answers thus : 
^ One indulges hope ; one is anxious about 
the salvation of her soul.' This class have 
set apart one half hour each day to labor, the 



76 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



avails of which go to make up a library for 
the West. They are making strenuous 
efforts to raise ten or twelve dollars. If 
they succeed^ I think the library ought to 
go in their name. One teacher says that 
^ three in the class indulge hope^ and some 
at times are anxious about their souls' sal- 
vation. They all manifest a great interest 
in the study of the Bible. Although many 
of them live at a distance from the church, 
and cannot always be present, yet they never 
make that an excuse for not getting the les- 
son. She never, but twice, found them de- 
ficient ; they were not only ready to answer 
the questions proposed by the teacher, but 
themselves proposed many questions rela- 
tive to the subject of the lesson. They seem 
perfectly familiar and use much freedom in 
expressing their opinions on practical points, 
and often speak of the satisfaction derived 
from the discovery of some new truth. And 
I feel much obliged to some of them for the 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 77 



effort they make to render the class interest- 
ing and profitable.' Yet that teacher has 
been much tried in her feelings in regard to 
the benevolence of the class. She set before 
them the destitution of the West, the prom- 
ises made to the cheerful giver ; but, with 
the exception of a few, they did not feel in- 
terested in the subject of benevolence. At 
length, the teacher proposed a plan which 
met the approbation of all the class. The 
plan was for each to labor one half-hour 
every day, and contribute the avails to the 
West. Since that, the class has been fuller, 
and more interest taken in the lesson. In 
making these extracts, I desire to avoid all 
personality, hoping none will feel injured or 
neglected. Never, since I have had charge 
of the school, has it been more united, more 
flourishing, more liberal, than the past year. 
" Bear with me, dear friends, while I plead 
with you for benevolence. I am pleading 
for a lost world, for our beloved country, 



78 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



and for souls whom Christ died to purchase. 
Never^ no, never, when we come to meet 
in another world, shall we regret what we 
have done to save souls. 

'^ The number of ^ Congregational Visit- 
ers/ we have taken the past year, is twenty- 
five ; the present year seven. Number of 
the ^ Well Spring ' in 1844, was forty- 
nine. Ten copies were given by a friend. 
This year the number taken is fifty. There 
are twenty-three members of the church who 
seldom attend meeting, and some never at- 
tend the Sabbath School. These things 
ought not so to be. 

^^In conclusion, I will just state some things 
which we need, that, by the blessing of God, 
we may have the descent of the Holy Spirit. 

^^We need a superintendent, like Har- 
lan Page, holy, active, laborious, faithful, 
untiring, inventive, and always abounding 
in the work of the Lord. 

" A band of teachers like Payson, Bible- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 79 



studiers^ Bible-class-goers, Bible-truth-appli- 
ers, soul-seekers, and closet mourners. 

^^The school, a band of truth-seekers, 
searching the Scriptures daily to see if these 
things are so. Sabbath School-goers, atten- 
tive learners, appliers of truth to themselves, 
loving their teachers and one another. 

'' The church, a praying church, a Sabbath 
School-going church, a united, steadfast, 
and immovable church ; a practical, holy, 
self-denying, and ever-moving church. 

'' With these attainments, the Holy Spirit 
will descend, and our sons and daughters 
will say, ^ Bless the Lord, O, our souls ! ' 

^' P. S. 1 now take this opportunity to 
acknowledge the receipt of an elegant Bible 
presented me by a member of this school, 
for which I feel very grateful to the donor. 

** But when I read, on the margin page, the 
following note, ' This Bible I present to you 
as a token of respect for your faithfulness as 
a Sabbath School superintendent,' I felt it 



80 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



was unmerited. But^ as it came unexpected 
and unsought^ I do receive it with more 
heartfelt gratitude than Queen Victoria could 
have received the crown of England. 

^^ When I open its sacred pages, I feel that 
its Author is divine. When I read that ' the 
thoughts and imaginations of men's hearts are 
evil and that continually/ may I feel that my 
heart by nature is totally depraved. When I 
read that ^ God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him might not perish, but have 
everlasting life/ may I love and obey that 
Saviour. And when I hear that Saviour say, 
^ Whatsoever ye would that men should do 
unto you, do ye even so to them,' may I 
pattern after that rule. When I read that 
Paul labored night and day with tears, going 
from house to house, warning and beseeching 
sinners to ^ flee from the wrath to come,' may 
I imitate him in doing good. When I read 
his injunction, ^Remember them that are 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 81 



in bonds as bound with them/ may I ever 
exert myself in behalf of Ihe enslaved. 
When I read^ ^ As ye have freely received, 
freely give/ may I abound in liberality. 
When I read, ^ Blessed are the peacemak- 
ers,' may I ever hold myself ready to for- 
give all that injure me, and ever exert my- 
self to make peace among my brethren. 
When I read from the Sacred Book, that 
Christ shall come to judge the world in the 
great and last day ; that every eye shall see 
him ; that the dead, both small and great, 
shall be there ; it is a solemn thought that 
our pastor, our Sabbath School, the donor 
and receiver of that Bible will be there ! 
And if we are all found faithful, what a 
happy meeting it will be ! " 



6 



82 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER X. 

SUPERINTENDENCE CONTINUED. 

In making these annual reports. Deacon 
Morse recognized his amenableness as super- 
intendent to the church. Therefore he 
would invariably commence by addressing 
the pastor in parliamentary form as ^^ Mr. 
President." Here is one more specimen of 
a later date, soon after the organization of a 
Methodist Church in the village. 

^^ Mr. President, — One year ago, there 
was a new society formed in this place ; and 
although our school has been diminished in 
numbers, yet I was pleased, because it will 
bring some under the sound of the gospel 
that could not otherwise be reached, and 
create a union between the two denomina- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 83 



tions. I rejoice in their prosperity; and^ 
although consistency demands my attendance 
in my accustomed place of worship, yet I 
shall ever rejoice to meet them in the social 
meeting. 

ic We reorgnized the first Sabbath in June. 
The first six months, the average attendance 
of females was 110; of males, 52 ; infant 
class, 36. Whole average for the year, 
190 * * * " 

Then he specifies each class and its teach- 
er by name, and mentions the sum of money 
contributed by each for benevolent purposes. 
The whole amounting to $83.60. The 
report continues : 

^^ Expended in the following manner : 
Mrs. J. C. Webster's and Mrs. William 
Claflin's classes sent a box of clothing worth 
$25 out to Eev. Mr. Sawtell, Cleveland, 
Ohio, for the benefit of his school. This 
was raised by those young ladies' working 
society. Who will imitate? Mrs. James Long's 



84 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



class made Mrs. Susan L. Mabiy a life mem- 
ber of the Massachusetts Sabbath School 
Society. Dr. L. L. Scammell was made 
life member by the school. Mr. Albert 
Claflin was made life member by Deacon 
I. V. Adams's class. The school sent a libra- 
ry worth SIO to Eev. Hiram Wilson, Can- 
ada, for the fugitive slaves. Governor L. 
Kossuth, then the guest of Massachusetts, 
was made a life member of the Massachu- 
setts Sabbath School Society by our school. 
The following is his letter of acknowledg- 
ment : 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 85 



^^ Boston, Mass., May 10, 1852. 
Sam. Morse, Esq. : 
Dear Sir, — 



^3 



Accept my warmest thanks for the honor 
you have bestowed upon me by constituting 
me a life member of the Massachusetts Sab- 
bath School Society. I regard the certifi- 
cate, through which the children, by con- 
tributing their pennies, have shown their 
sympathy for the cause of Hungary, as one 
of the most valuable keepsakes of my visit 
in America. It is the best evidence that the 
teachers of the Sabbath Schools really devel- 
op the moral feelings of their pupils, and 
that the pupils are ready to receive, in their 
heart, the noble seed. 

With sincere respect. 

Yours faithfully, 

L. KOSSL'TH." 



86 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



^' Expended the remainder, with the ex- 
ception of ^9.20 in the treasury, in paying 
small bills for delinquent subscribers for 
juvenile papers, and for life memberships." 

■^ ^ ^ "^ 7^ 

INCIDENTS. 

^^ June. First Sabbath, Appearances not 
so favorable as in some former years in re- 
organizing the school. Two hundred pres- 
ent. Our pastor preached an excellent ser- 
mon on training children, and addressed the 
school. In the evening a good concert, 

^^ June, Third Sabbath, Chose a com- 
mittee to get new scholars into the school. 
One young man in, whom I never saw in 
before. Rev. Mr. French addressed the 
school in a very appropriate manner. Two 
young men came in. ^^H 

^^ June, Fourth Sabbath, Alfred Green- 
wood, just on the verge of two worlds, was 
admitted to our church at his father's house. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 87 



and^ for the first and last time on earthy he 
partook of the emblems of Christ's dying 
love. Being asked if he had enjoyed the 
ordinance^ ^ yes^ the singing was like the 
foretaste of heaven.' 

^^ June. Fifth Sabbath. Our pastor and 
wife left the week previous, to be absent two 
or three Sabbaths. In forenoon, the la- 
mented Methodist minister from Milford 
preached and addressed the Sabbath School. 
And had he known it was for the last time, 
how could he have made a more solemn im- 
pression on the minds of his hearers ! 

^^ July. First Sabbath. Received a letter 
from our pastor, dated at Trenton Falls, 
New York. One teacher told me she hoped 
her husband had found his Saviour the week 
previous. 

^^ July, Second Sabbath. Our pastor and 
wife returned, and it was a happy meeting 
on that day. 

^^ Augiist. First Sabbath. Dr. Ide ad- 



88 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



dressed the school on the subject of the les- 
son^ which was^ The Character of Absalom. 

'^ Angtist. Fifth Sabbath, Hyram Green- 
wood^ Jr. of Woodville was buried. Your 
superintendent addressed the school on the 
death of that amiable youth, and, before an- 
other Sabbath arrived, he was himself pros- 
trated by a fever. 

^^ Here my journal is suspended till Novem- 
ber 30th, when, through the goodness of 
God, I was enabled to resume my place 
again. Seeing my assistant, Dr. Wakefield, 
was obliged to leave his class and the school 
for several weeks, I was very glad the school 
made choice of my old and tried friend, 
James Bowker, superintendent pro tempore. 
For more than thirty years have we labored 
in the Sabbath School together. And, as 
the hearts of David and Jonathan were knit 
together in love, so have ours been. May 
we labor on together in the work of the 
Lord, and, when death comes, may it find us 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 89 



with the harness on^ — not on Mount Gil- 
boa^ with swords and spears^ but on the hills 
of Hopkinton ! 

^^ Brother ! Let us labor through the even- 
ing of life for dew and rain to fertilize these 
heights, that we may be worthy to have it 
said of us, ^ How are the mighty fallen in 
the midst of the battle ! ' 

" December 5th. Our pastor was at Saxon- 
ville. The Lord is doing a great work 
there. 

^^ January 2d. The death of our venerable 
friend, Joseph Walker, was announced. 

'^ February Sd. Heard of the conversion of 
a young man who had been a member of Mr. 
Poor's class. Distributed the tract entitled 
^ The New Year.' Another young man gave 
his heart to Jesus, and others are anxious. 
About the first of March, our pastor com- 
menced an inquiry meeting. 

" March 2d. One little miss told me she 
hoped she had given her heart to the Saviour. 



90 AV0R5HIP AND WORK. 



'^ When ? " 

'' Last Sabbath." 

^' What was you doing ? " 

'' Eeading the Bible." 

^^What makes you think you love the 
Sayiour ? " 

" Because I feel so happy." 

^^ Addressed a class of young ladies. A 
tearful eye^ that bespoke an anxious heart. 
Eeceived a note from one^ saying she hoped 
she had decided to be a Christian. One 
teacher says a little boy calls two or three 
times a day to learn his lesson. 

Mrs. savs five misses in her class 

have committed three verses of Scripture 
each over and above their lessons, amounting 
to an hundred verses each. AVho will im- 
itate ■ One teacher says she cannot de- 
scribe her anguish of spuit on reflecting that 
one of her pupils was called away without 
one direct personal warning from her. How 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 91 



many teacliers will make tlie same lament 
over lost ones ! 

'^ There has been some complaint that schol- 
ars move from one class to another^ which 
is very wrongs unless there is a mutual un- 
derstanding on both sides. There is one 
venerable head in the Sabbath School, who, 
if well, always, rain or shine, is there, and 
reminds me of John Q. Adams, especially as 
a member of our choir, where, for nearly 
half a century, he has stood, firm in the 
midst of eruptions, pressing his way through 
all obstructions, as the venerable sage did 
when contending for the right of petition. 
May he fill that sacred place till called to 
sing in the New Jerusalem above. 

" Mr. Chairman, I do n't know but I shall 
exhaust your patience. I have not the art 
of brevity that Governor Boutwell has in his 
annual proclamations. Bear with me a lit- 
tle longer. 

^^ I want to speak of the unusual number of 



92 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



deaths in our school. Have spoken of Al- 
fred Greenwood^ who, one Sabbath, joined the 
church mihtant, the next in the church tri- 
umphant. In September, Adelaide and her 
sister Eliza Phipps were amiable and lovely 
in life, and in death not much divided. Now 
their father and mother weep alone. 

^^ December 4:th. The wife of Mr. Peter 
Parker died, and, we trust, made a happy 
exchange, and on the ISth of February y his 
daughter Amelia, aged 15. "VVe trust they 
are both before the throne. 

" The 5th Sabbath in February, little 
Charlie, son of Samuel Jr., and Sarah 
Crooks, a member of the infant class, died. 
Thus a little brother and sister sleep in one 
narrow grave. Weeping friends, this event 
has touched anew a chord in my heart, that 
was made to vibrate with grief twenty-eight 
years ago by the sudden death of our little 
Aaron. May it quicken you, make you 
better Christians, and learn you to sympa- 



! 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 93 



thize more deeply with the afflicted. Early 
in March, Charles Stone and the wife of Mr. 
Willard Bemis, both went home, praising 
God and the Lamb. 

^^ April 2d, Mrs. Sawyer died as calm as 
a summer's eye, and Emily Reed, too, has 
soared away. Thus ten, who have so lately 
met with us, will meet us no more on earth. 
Add to this number those before departed, 
whom we love to revere, and how it will 
swell the catalogue ! I seem to see Parson 
Howe on horseback, visiting every school 
district in town to catechize the children, 
and our beloved Phelps directing anxious 
sinners to the Lamb of God. Do n't you 
see Deacon Elijah Pitch crossing the Com- 
mon, with singing book under his arm ? 
How he stood, for sixteen years, at the helm, 
rearing our Sabbath School from infancy to 
manhood ! Where are our mothers and sis- 
ters, the widows Leland and Ellis, and Miss 
Nancy Pitch, the founder of our school ? 



94 WOItSHIP AND WORK, 



Listen^ ye children, while I introduce you 
to the sainted Mrs. A. A. Phelps, who first 
gathered the infant class in this place. And 
the beloved Rebecca R. Webster, is she not 
now looking in upon us ? Tread softly, lest 
you drown her footsteps. Come, ye sisters, 
bring in the coats and garments, that you 
and she fitted for the escaped fugitive, and 
the outcast sailor. You have heard her per- 
suasive appeals for benevolence. They have 
been felt around the globe. And you, 
young men and maidens, remember those 
happy expressions of countenance that told 
how much she loved you. And who can 
help cherishing the memory of Mrs. Elisha 
Vose, and her daughter Sarah ; of Mrs. 
Irene Gates, Mrs Deacon Fitch, and the 
meek and lovely Mrs. Dr. Scammell ? Let 
it be ours to imitate their virtues. 

^^ The time has arrived for reorganizing our 
school. The church has seen fit to reap- 
point me superintendent for the year to come. 



Mi 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 95 



and Deacon Buck assistant. The first day of 
March last^ I was sixty years old. I am not 
sensible of any abatement of ardor in my 
feelings for the promotion of the Redeem- 
er's kingdom. But, before I am aware, I 
am counting the miles and surveying the 
hills interspersed between this and my home. 
So that sometimes the pelting storm and the 
midnight hour almost upset me. But when 
I seem to hear that awful sound, ^ Come to 
judgfnent/ it electrifies the old man, and I 
feel young again. So, my children, pardon 
me. For you all seem like children to me. 
We will all try to improve a little from the 
past, and add a little to our old stock by 
depending more on the merits of Christ, and 
having less confidence in ourselves, by get- 
ting and understanding our lessons better, 
by persuading young men and others to join 
our school, by holding teachers' meetings, 
by personal conversation and visiting, by en- 
couraging our pupils to ask questions, by 



96 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



getting our places in the scliool before the 
teacher shall begin to think we have for- 
saken him, by keeping up an interest, so 
that the scholars will not wish to leave, by 
attending the Sabbath School Concert, and 
each trvino^ to add to its interest. 

^^ I was sflad to hear your teacher in the 
High School announce that there were many 
more compositions written than were re- 
quired. And when the ^ Morning Star,' 
and the ^ Young Ladies' Offering' were 
read, I thought, as we had the same intel- 
lects and poets in our Sabbath School, why 
not have a paper here ? Call it the ' Sab- 
bath School Journal,' if you please. As 
our lessons are on Scripture Biography, how 
easy to fill a paper once a month, to be read 
at our concerts ! Young ladies and gentle- 
men, won't you take this subject under con- 
sideration, and make arrangements for its 
accomplishment ? 

'^ About the first of April, I promised a 



jdJ 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 97 



handsome pocket Bible to all who would 
commit and repeat correctly the Assembly's 
Catechism, and read the Bible through in 
one year from that date. I mean the old- 
fashioned Catechism without any abridg- 
ment. If any will do it sooner, they shall 
have the reward. 

" Mr. President, almost fourteen years have 
tested your fidelity to us. Take courage, 
sir ; for already I seem to see your crovfn is 
beginning to be studded with new gems. 
Parents, no time is to be lost. Already 
some of our children are in heaven or hell. 
Haste, then ; see that yourselves are ready. 
Teachers, what of the night ? Do n't slum- 
ber while Jesus is passing by. Ye schol- 
ars, what shall I say to you ? I hope some 
have given their hearts to the Saviour. Will 
any of you refuse ? May God enable you to 
repent. If God spares me another year, I 
hope, by his help, to be more faithful. I 
never was more sensible of my attachment to 
7 



98 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 



you than when sick last fall. And I have 
been strengthened since, by hearing one of 
your number say I was remembered daily in 
your prayers at that time. Let me still have 
them^ and your cooperation too." 



WORSHIP AIS^D WORK. 99 



CHAPTER XI. 

SUPERINTENDENCE CONTINUED. 

Besides the annual reports of Deacon Morse 
to the churchy he used to make a short one 
to the school every month. The following 
is a specimen of one of these, selected at 
random. 

"REPORT OF THE SABBATH SCHOOL FOR DECEMBER, 
1845. 

The school has averaged, the past month, . . 167 
Outside of this number, the infant class, ... 34 
The school has contributed, this month, . . $6.61 
The infant class, 33 

'^ One promising lad, who loved the school^ 
and was one of the number who pledged 
themselves to raise ten dollars in their class 
the present year, has, for several weeks, been 



100 WORSHIP AND WOUK. 



denied the privilege of meeting his class on 
account of sickness. 

" The Assembly's Catechism has been intro- 
duced into the school the month past. Am 
happy to find some classes much engaged in 
its study. 

^^ Heard one scholar say the teacher talked 
so low they could not hear what was said. 
That same teacher asked no questions, only 
what were in the book. May the Lord 
touch the heart of such a teacher by his 
Holy Spirit, or let him be removed from the 
class. 

^^ Our lessons for the month past have been 
on the dealings of God with the antediluvian 
world, all the wicked inhabitants of which 
he destroyed with a deluge, except right- 
eous Noah and his family, who were pre- 
served in the ark. A little schoolboy asked 
me, the other day, who helped Noah build 
the ark ? That unexpected question caused 
me some thought on the subject. And when 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 101 



children ask proper questions, they ought to 
receive proper answers. Perhaps there are 
other children here, who have thought of 
similar questions. Well, then, I will try to 
answer the inquiry. 

" As Noah's ark is said to have been about 
four hundred and eighty feet long, eighty- 
one feet wide, and forty-eight feet high, with 
first, second, and third stories, it must have 
required a vast deal of timber. It must have 
required a great many men to rear such a 
building. And, as there were, in that wick- 
ed age, but few who sympathized with Noah 
in faith and righteousness, it is probable that 
his help w^as mostly from a scoffing and 
wicked world. And though God had told 
Noah that the wickedness of man was great 
on the earth, that the imaginations of man's 
heart were evil, and only evil continually ; 
that it repented him that he had made man 
upon the earth ; yet his days should be one 
hundred and twenty years. 



102 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



^' Let us consider some traits in Noah's 
character. 

^^1. As to his descent. Methuselah was his 
grandfather, and he the son of pious Enoch, 
who hved three hundred years after the 
birth of Methuselah. 

^^ 2. As to his piety. The first intimations 
of it are given in these words : ^ But Noah 
found grace in the eyes of the Lord.' And 
it is said that ^ Noah was a just man, and 
perfect in his generations ; and Noah walked 
with God.' 

" 3. He had strong faith in God. ^ By 
faith Noah, being warned of God, of things 
not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared 
an ark to the saving of his house.' 

^^4. He was a plain, faithful preacher ; for 
he lived at a time of great wickedness. 

^* Wherein did Noah's ark resemble the 
Christian's ark, the Lord Jesus Christ ? 

^^ 1. As to its greatness. Ample accommo- 
dations. 



WORSHIP AND WOKK. 103 



^^3. As to its strength and durability. 
' Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom^ 
and thy dominion endureth throughout all 
generations.' 

" 3. There was but one door. ^ I am the 
door.' 

^^4. But one window to admit the rays of 
light. ^ I am the light of the world.' 

^^5. The form and size of the ark were 
given to Noah by God himself. So Christ has 
published the conditions of salvation to us. 

^' 6. There was a time and space given to 
the old world for repentance^ which it might 
have improved and entered the ark. So the 
Saviour is now waiting to be gracious. 

^' 7. But, by procrastination, the inhabitants 
of the old world were all lost. For ^ they 
were eating and drinking until the day that 
Noah entered into the ark, and knew not till 
the flood came and took them all away ; so 
shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.' 

^^ 8. Noah built the ark after the pattern 



104 WORSHIP AND WORK, 



God gave him. ^ According to all tliat God 
commanded him, so did he.' So Christ 
delegated his cause to his disciples when he 
left the world. And so his ministers are to 
preach ichat he bids them, 

^^ 9. When it was too late, the wicked in 
Noah's time cried for help. So it will be 
with the impenitent at death and the judg- 
ment." 

Deacon Morse loved novelty and varia- 
tion in his plans of usefulness. As a super- 
intendent, he would, at times, suspend the 
regular exercises of the school to improve 
special providences, and devote the time to 
prayer and conference. The following is a 
specimen of an address which he had pre- 
pared for such an occasion : 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 105 



" To the Sabbath School in Hojpldnton : 
'^ Respected Friends : 

" Sometimes it is best to turn aside awhile 
from our accustomed duties and employ- 
ments to notice the providences of God, and 
seriously inquire what they are designed to 
say to us. I therefore think it best to dis- 
pense with the lesson to-day, and have devo- 
tional exercises in its stead. 

^' And, having a desire to communicate a 
few thoughts to you on the dispensations of 
God, I hope you will bear with me. 

^^ Since last April, six members of our 
school have died ; more, I believe, than have 
ever died in one year since its organization. 
Surely God is speaking loudly to us. 

'^ You recollect, one year ago, the first Sab- 
bath in this month, thirty stood forth in this 
consecrated house, and solemnly dedicated 
themselves to the Lord. Three of that lit- 
tle band, I doubt not, are to-day in heaven. 



106 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



'•' One of that number, whom we this day 
mourn^ was Airs. Fitch. For nearly sixty 
years she Hved in sin. unconverted to God. 
But last winter^, in the time of God's mer- 
ciful visitation in this place, her atten- 
tion was called to the great subject of relig- 
ion. And we trust she was made willing to 
give herself to Christ. Since then, I believe 
she has led a consistent Christian lile, and 
had united herself with the Sabbath School. 
I visited her in her last sickness, and found 
her composed. I said, ^ Mrs. Fitch, had 
God visited you a little more than a year 
ago with this sickness, would you have been 
prepared for it ? ' She shook her head, and 
said, 'So.' One short year in the school 
of Christ, and she is called home. And her 
companion is still left behind. The Lord 
has a little more work for you, my brother, 
and then you will go home too. Be patient. 
Be vigilant. Be ready. Then he who is to 
come will come, and vrill not tarrv. And I 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 107 



trust you will meet many from this school in 
heaven. 

'' Mrs. Spear was one of that happy band. 
For about two years she had an interesting 
class of young ladies in the Sabbath School. 
I never have witnessed more union between 
teacher and pupils than in this class. And 
well there might be ; for five out of the 
seven in the class professed to obtain a hope 
in Christ during the revival. Catherine J. 
Freeland, one of that little band, and the 
first ripe fruit of that spiritual harvest, has 
been gathered into the garner of the Lord. 

'^ Mrs. Spear was very active in her class. 
She understood her lesson. One of the teach- 
ers has remarked to me since her death, that 
they used generally to get their lessons to- 
gether, and sometimes pray over them. And 
here is the secret of her success. After the 
revival commenced in the school, and before 
any of her class had indulged a hope, she 
proposed to have them set apart one half 



108 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



hour each day to pray for their own conver- 
sion, and she would observe the same time 
in her closet to pray for them. She not 
only asked the questions, but impressed 
them by personal conversation and applica- 
tion. She requested her class to meet at her 
house for prayer and mutual conversation. 
At one time she proposed to them to com- 
mit to memory the New Testament. Her 
proposition was to commit one verse each 
weekday, and five on the Sabbath ; and she 
engaged to commence with them. I trust they 
will go on as they have now begun. It is 
not my purpose to praise the dead, but to 
stimulate the living. I believe Mrs. Spear 
is the only teacher who has died out of this 
school for five years. We see that youth, 
activity, and usefulness are no barrier against 
the shafts of death. A few months have 
made a great change in this class. Miss 
Dean has had it through the winter. She 
has now left. So they are destitute again. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 109 



May the Lord provide them with one who 
will care for their souls. May the mantle of 
her who has guided these lambs to Christ 
fall on them^ and on her who may be her 
successor in the class. We commend the 
companion of our departed sister unto the 
Lord. May his grace sustain him. May 
he so live and act that, when he meets the 
King of Terrors, he may meet him as man- 
fully, as fearlessly, and as triumphantly, as 
did his companion. 

"Now I would say to the teachers, be 
faithful. You have a precious trust com- 
mitted to you. Your time may be short. 
Won't you pray over your lessons ? Do 
make a personal application to each scholar 
in your class. Strive to get their confidence. 
Make them feel that you are in earnest. 
Speak to them of the love of Christ. God 
has blessed you, and he will do it again. 

'^Mrs. Spear did not live to see all her class 
converied. No, some were left behind. So 



110 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



I fear many others in this privileged school 
will have occasion to say at last, ^ The har- 
vest is passed, the summer is ended, and we 
are not saved.' 

'^ Listen, then, my friends, to the instruc- 
tion of your teachers, and strive to make 
your peace with God. Come, now, for all 
things are ready. Some of you are young. 
Think of that young, sprightly, engaging 
little boy, Joseph Whittemore. How short 
his race ! The sighs, the groans of an 
affectionate father or mother could not save 
his life. Oh then, come to Christ, and you 
may be saved. 

^^ May God sanctify these afflictive dispen- 
sations to this school, to this church, to this 
worshipping assembly, and to these circles of 
mourners." 



WORSHIP AND WORK. Ill 



CHAPTER XII. 

SUPERINTENDENCE CONTINUED. 

Leaving out the statistics and personal ap- 
peals, we will here subjoin a few isolated 
paragraphs from other reports of Deacon 
Morse. 

In 1848, he said : 

" Never was there a time that Christians 
could labor to more profit than the present. 
I bless God I live in the nineteenth century. 
Could I have had my choice in the time and 
locality of my existence, I could have select- 
ed none so well adapted to expand the en- 
ergies of the soul, and so wonderful for the 
adaptation of means to ends. Why, it seems 
to me that the flying railroad car, the wing- 
ed steamboat, freighted with missionaries. 



112 



WOKSHIP AND WORK. 



Bibles^ and tracts, was what John saw in a 
vision, when he saw an ^ angel flying in the 
midst of heaven, having the everlasting gos- 
pel to preach to them that were on the 
earth.' And that wonderful magic, the 
electric telegraph, which teaches us the 
mighty aspiration of men to be as gods, and 
which enables the humble follower of the 
Lamb, sighing for the salvation of the hea- 
then, to whisper his desires and prayers to a 
kindred soul in a far off city, saying, ^ Will 
you go ? ' And, rit the next breath, as it 
were, has the gentle whisper come back, 
' Yes, I '11 go ! ' 

^^As to my locality, thank God that I 
was born on the salubrious hills of Hop- 
kinton, and my lot cast among its brave, 
w^hole-souled inhabitants. I feel it an hon- 
or that I have been permitted to live and 
labor v>dth them in the moral reforms of the 
day. I lived years before Sabbath Schools 
were known, and when intemperance was 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 113 



fast spreading its withering blight over the 
fair heritage of the Lord. 

'' There is another reform going on^ which 
is so philanthropic in its nature^ so much in 
keeping with the Holy Scriptures^ has so 
much bearing on the rising generation, was 
so recently in its infancy/ but now growing 
fast into manhood, that I cannot but name it. 
It is the Anti-Slavery cause. Well do we 
remember, some of us, when our holy and 
beautiful house was befsieged by a noisy rab- 
ble, because one man dared to stand up and 
present the claims of the slave. The life-blood 
of a Lovej oy and a Torrey has not flowed in vain. 
No, bless God, the church is rising, and will 
soon stand erect. The recent advance of 
public opinion in our conference of churches 
cheers us on to victory. 

" Then let us teach our children that all 
men are our neighbors, that slavery is always 
wrong, that the slave ought to have the 
Bible. Let us be encouraged from the past. 



114 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



1 



and labor on. And soon the leven will dif- 
fuse itself through the av hole lump. I say 
again, I am glad my lot was cast in Hopkin- 
ton. Other causes of reform might be named, 
that will advance just as fast as men receive 
and practise upon the word of God, How 
important, then, is Sabbath School instruc- 
tion ! And how ought parents to labor to 
store their children's minds with Bible 
truth ! 

^^ The year that has passed has been an 
eventful one. The revolution in France 
makes the crowned heads in Europe to trem- 
ble. The starving poor of Ireland, the vig- 
orous prosecution of an unrighteous war with 
Mexico, the immigration of foreigners to 
our country, the unexampled prosperity of 
our citizens, the mortality in the ranks of our 
statesmen, the increase of Romanism and in- 
fidelity, and the benign influences of the 
Holy Spirit's return, all show a mighty 
crisis at hand. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 115 



^^ How important^ then, is the study of the 
Bible ! In it are found inexhaustible treas- 
ures. It is the pearl of great price. It is 
eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, food 
to the hungry, water to the thirsty. In it a 
Saviour's love is portrayed in his death on 
the cross. In addition to our own experi- 
ence, it points out our lost and ruined con- 
dition as sinners, the strictness of God's 
moral law, the necessity of regeneration and 
holy living, the brevity of human life, the 
immortality of the soul, a heaven and a hell. 
In short, it is a message of love from the 
eternal God to man." 

The following is from his report for 
1843-4 : 

" Some twenty years ago, after a long and 
dreary winter, spring returned in all its 
beauty ; the sun shone in all its brilliancy, 
and unlocked the earth, which, for months, 
had defied its genial influences. The sing- 
ing of birds had come, and the voice of the 



116 WOESHIP A>'D WORK. 



turtle was heard in our land. Man went 
forth to his labors with invigorated spirits 
and physical strength. The ox broke the 
unfettered sod. The gentle showers de- 
scended. The seed was cast into the bosom 
of the earth. It soon sprung up. The earth 
was soon clothed in its richest verdure. For 
months_5 the heart of the husbandman was 
cheered with the prospect of an abundant 
harvest. But, alas I an untimely frost blight- 
ed his fond expectations. The earth, as it 
were, was clothed in mourning. The whole 
community suffered, and man was at once 
made to feel his dependence on God. 

^^ But this was an exception. God gener- 
ally blesses man temporally and spiritually 
according to labor bestowed. He is a 
sovereign, and bestows his blessings when, 
and on whom he will ; but still we are en- 
couraged to labor. For never has he said to 
the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. Two 
years ago, we had a precious revival in our 



Mi 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 117 



Sabbath SchooL And here let us stop and 
ask^ why it did not continue ? Is there not 
a failure somewhere ? After the great frost, 
when spring had returned, did we say it will 
be of no use to plow and plant this year 
because God frowned upon us last year ? 
No, we went to work with faith and hope ; 
and God blessed us, and has blessed us for 
more than twenty years with seed-time and 
harvest. I ask again, why did not that re- 
vival harvest continue ? Did we not relax 
our labors ? Has there been on the part of 
Christians that agonizmg in prayer to God 
for sinners, — that keeping our hearts and 
watching against sin ? Have we met our 
classes with the expectation that they will 
this day give their hearts to God ? Have 
we used personal effort with them, such as 
visiting, writing, and applying the subject 
of the lesson personally. Do not some of 
our brethren absent themselves from the 
school without a justifiable excuse ? Does 



118 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



not the teachers' meeting flag, and the heart 
of our pastor sigh, because he meets so few 
that are panting for the knowledge of God's 
word ? I feel that we must all plead 
guilty. 

'' I ask now, what shall we do ? We will 
do as David did. He had it in his heart to 
build a house for God. So he went to work 
with all his might, and prepared gold, and 
silver, and brass, and iron, and stones, and 
timber, in abundance. He gave of his sub- 
stance liberally. He then went to his breth- 
ren, and told them his desire. And their 
hearts were touched while they were living 
in their ceiled houses, and still the Lord had 
no house where to record his name. They 
too offered willingly, and cast into the treas- 
urv of the Lord. Let our hearts be touched 
with the desolations of Zion, and begin to 
build, and God will add his blessing." 

Just before he resigned his office in 1856, 
he said in his report : 



WORSHIP AND WOUK. 119 



^^ Nearly eighteen years I have occupied 
the responsible position of superintendent of 
this school. Yes^ nearly two and a half years 
of Sabbaths have come and gone. — Ah ! pre- 
cious mementos ! The men and the women, 
whose heads then began to blossom, are 
gone ! The infants then have come up to 
manhood now. And the fathers and moth- 
ers, who then led their little ones to the 
Sabbath School, like myself, now say, ^ hap- 
py seasons.' Oh that I had realized it more 
then ! But the past cannot be recalled. 
Come then, one and all, and gird on the 
armor. Let us all to-day resolve to make 
this school what it ought to be. Do I hear 
the response, ^ Yes, I will ? ' " 

Extracts of a similar character could be 
multiplied to a great extent. But these are 
enough to show the character of his mind, 
and his zeal for the prosperity of the Sabbath 
School. For all who knew him will testify 



120 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



that these expressions of his lips were only 
a fit index of his actual efforts to discharge 
faithfully the duties of his office. He was a 
Sabbath School worker. 



II 



W'OHSHIP AND WORK. 121 



CHAPTER XIII. 

COLPORTAGE. 

The distribution of religious tracts was a 
favorite method of usefulness with Deacon 
Morse from the beginning of his Christian 
life. We apprehend that he was seldom 
without them in his pockets or the crown of 
his hat. In 1852 he made a journey to 
Wisconsin to visit friends. But he also made 
it a tour of colportage^ embracing every op- 
portunity to distribute tracts^ attend prayer 
meetings^ and exhort his fellow travelers to 
journey with him to the heavenly land. But 
during his later years. Providence seemed to 
open the way for a more systematic effort of 
this kind. And we cannot do better than 
to give his own account of the mission upon 



122 WOllSHIP AND WORK. 



which he felt called upon to enter, in the 
following language : 

^^In 1853 I was afflicted with a lame 
shoulder and arm ; could do but little work, 
hoping in the spring it would wear away ; 
but the warm weather made it worse. So I 
consulted Dr. Wakefield, my beloved phy- 
sician. He pronounced it neuralgia, and 
said ^ I must quit work, or I could not be 
cured.' He said, moreover, ' I had worked 
for myself long enough, and must now work 
for the Lord.' I told him nothing would 
suit me better than to be a colporter. ^ Then,' 
said he, ' do it.' This work I had often 
wished, in my ' younger days, I could do. 
Bat the care of a farm and a rising family 
seemed to throw insurmountable barriers in 
the vray. But now, sixty-one years had fled. 
My children were old enough to support 
themselves. None of my sons wished to 
work on the farm ; and why not devote the 
evening of my life to that cause ? By prayer, 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 123 



self-examination, and the kind advice of Dr* 
W., and the hearty consent of my dear wife, 
I decided to do so. Accordingly, the ^ Amer- 
ican Tract Society ' furnished me with tracts, 
and in September I commenced visiting every 
family in my own native town. And here I 
will note a few statistics. I found four hun- 
dred and forty-six dwelling-houses; five 
hundred and forty-six families ; one hundred 
and seventy Universalist families ; seventy- 
one that did not attend public worship ; and 
one hundred and sixteen Irish and Roman 
Catholic. Spent eight and a half days' time. 
Traveled, out and in, an hundred and fifty- 
eight miles. Distributed the tract ^ Phebe 
Ann Jacobs.' All but twelve Irish families 
received it. Made my report in church- 
meeting, with some incidents that occurred 
in my visits. I can now look all over this 
town and say I have endeavored to be faith- 
ful and put the bread of life into every 
family. 



124 AYOTISHIP AND WORK. 



'^ I received an urgent request from Rev. 
Mr. Thayer to visit Ashland. Accordingly, 
in October^ I went there. Found two hun- 
dred and twenty-one dwellings ; two hundred 
and seventy-two families ; a population of 
twelve hundred and eighty-nine. And, as I 
put the question, ^ What church do you at- 
tend ? ' I found one hundred and thir- 
teen families attended the Congregationalist ; 
ninety-one, the Baptist ; eight, Methodist ; 
two. Episcopalian ; eight, nowhere ; eight, 
Universalist ; and twenty-nine were Irish. 
Three Catholics refused a tract. Visited 
three schools. Received the pledge of more 
than a hundred children. Traveled about 
an hundred miles, and spent five days. 

'^ At the ^ Middlesex South Conference of 
Churches,' convened in Southboro', in Oc- 
tober, I was, by unanimous vote, requested 
to act as a colporter within the Conference. 
And, by the request of Eev. Mr. Dowse, I 
visited Sherborn the first of December, 1853. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 125 



Called on the clergymen — Rev. Mr, Dowse, 
Congregationalist^ Rev. Mr. Stone, Method- 
ist, and Rev. Mr. Fleming, Unitarian. Made 
known my errand, and received their hearty 
approval. I found a population of about a 
thousand, and two hundred and thirty fam- 
ilies. Eighty-three attended Mr. Dowse's 
church ; twenty-four Mr. Stone's ; seventy- 
three Mr. Fleming's ; seventeen nowhere ; 
seven were Irish ; and the remainder went 
out of town. Tracts distributed : ^ The Sword 
of the Spirit,' and ^ The Lord's Day/ Every 
family received a tract. Attended three even- 
ing meetings, and visited seven schools. 
Pledged two hundred children. Obtained 
ninety-one subscribers for the ^ American 
Messenger.^ Spent nine days, and traveled 
about a hundred and fifty miles. I had not 
yet asked for or received any compensation 
for my services. But the Lord blessed my 
soul, and I hope, in the great day of accounts. 



126 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



he will own my humble efforts. Had a 
meeting of all denominations to hear my re- 
port. Hope it will make Christians love one 
another better." 



WORSHIP AND WOEK. 127 



CHAPTER XIV. 

COLPOHTAGE CONTIiNTJED. 

Deacon Morse was encouraged by his ex- 
periments and the patronage which he re- 
ceived from the churches, to think that he 
might, perhaps, take a regular commission 
from some society, to act as a colporter. 
Therefore, in his own language, he says 
again, '^ In November, I called on Rev. Dr. 
Dickinson, Secretary, in Boston, of the 
^ American and Foreign Christian Union.' 
He wished me to take a commission to act as 
a missionary in their service. But as they 
wanted me to labor exclusively for the Cath- 
olics, I told him I could not. For I thought 
if we made them a proscribed class, it would 
excite their prejudices. I thought I could 



128 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



do tliem more good by calling on all without 
distinction. Besides^ I could not live to be 
confined to them ; I must have a breathing- 
hole. Well^ he said he would write to New 
York ; and if the Society would depart from 
their common usage, he would let me know. 
In two or three weeks after. Dr. Dickinson 
wrote me, saying he had received a line from 
Dr. Fairchild, and my request would prob- 
ably be granted." 

There was still some delay. And the 
deacon was always a little impatient if other 
people did not move as quick as he thought 
desirable, especially in a good enterprise. 
Sometimes he would even make his breth- 
ren almost feel under the necessity of taking 
the part of the Lord, because he did not 
convert sinners fast enough. So v/e find 
him writing again as follows : 

'^January 1st, 1854. Told my wife I 
must go out on my own responsibility again. 
Could not live so. Set out for HoUiston. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 129 



Called at the Post Office. Found a com- 
mission from Dr. Fairchild^ Secretary of the 
^ American and Foreign Christian Union/ 
dated New York, December 8, 1853. The 
conditions for three months were twenty-five 
dollars a month, to labor principally among 
the Catholics." 

This, of course, gave him new courage. 
And, from that time, he went on in the 
service of the ^^ American and Foreign Chris- 
tian Union," for some three years and a half. 
He confined his labors chiefly to the towns 
in Middlesex and Worcester counties, which 
contain a large Catholic population, with an 
occasional tour to some more remote town or 
city. The following are specimens of his 
daily work, taken from his journal : 

'' Monday, October 2d, 1854. Visited in 
Marlboro' twenty-seven Catholic families, 
(twelve French,) and eleven Protestant. 
Traveled sixteen miles. Pledged twenty- 
four scholars. Visited one Catholic family. 



130 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



where four or five were playing cards. I 
asked them if they would not take some of 
my cards. Said ^yes.' So I gave them 
some tracts. One of them read aloud. I 
improved the occasion to the best of my abil- 
ity. They were uncommonly civil ; treated 
me with far more respect than so many 
Americans would have been likely to. I 
was remarkably well received. God bless 
his truth to their souls. Had an excellent 
time in the school. 

'' Monday, October 23d. Visited in Mil- 
ford twenty-three Catholic and two Protest- 
ant families. Pledged thirty scholars. Trav- 
eled twenty miles. In Milford, said to be 
three thousand foreigners. Here their drunk- 
en priest keeps his subjects in abject sub- 
mission. In the first family visited to-day, 
the woman would take no tract ; said she 
would burn every book left there. * * * Q 
how shall I get hold of the hearts of these 
poor, del r. Jed men and women ! 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 131 



" Thursday, October 26tL Set out on a 
journey to Westfield^ with my wife and sis- 
ter. Arrived at Springfield at twelve, noon. 
Visited in the afternoon four Catholic fam- 
ilies, three Protestant, and five schools ; and 
pledged two hundred and fifty-five scholars. 
One little girl said she would not pledge 
herself because she drank wine every day 
after dinner. I think that family will be a 
family of drunkards. Visited the armory. 

'' Friday, October ^ItL Arrived at Broth- 
er J. P — 's at half past one. Did but little 
the rest of the day. Felt very much dissat- 
isfied with my idleness. Pesolved next day 
to labor. Visited twenty -five Catholic, fif- 
teen Protestant families in four miles travel. 

^^ Sabbath, 29th» Attended church at Dr. 
Davis's, Congregationalist ; met a large Sab- 
bath School, and addressed them. Also at- 
tended church at the Baptist ; found them 
much broken up by the dismissal of their 
pastor, Mr. Alden ; liked their new candi- 



13^2 ^OESHIP AND WORK. 



date. Attended meetinor iu the eveninef, 
and was allowed to speak. 

^'Monday, oQth. Visited the Xormal 
School^ and the Academy^ and a school of 
masters and misses, and pledged two hun- 
dred and ten scholars. Had great liberty in 
addressing them. * * Arrived home at sun- 
set." 

He has summed up his labors while en- 
gaged three years and a half for the Amer- 
ican and Foreign Christian I'nion, in the 
following words : 

" Whole number of families visited, 
ten thousand one hundred and seventy-five. 
Catholic, five thousand six hundred and 
forty. French and German, seventy-four. 
Protestant, Irish, and American, four thou- 
sand four hundred and forty-one. Tracts 
distributed, eight thousand two hundred and 
thirty-five. Where they would receive them, 
one in a family. Traveled out and in five 
thousand tlii'ee hundred and fifty-one miles. 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 133 



about half on foot. Schools yisited;, one hun- 
dred and eighty-four. Scholars addressed 
on moral and religious subjects^ eleven thou- 
sand four hundred and forty-four. Always 
made an impression on their minds, mani- 
fested by weeping. Scholars pledged, eight 
thousand six hundred and forty-eight. Gave 
to Catholics^ one hundred and sixty Bibles 
and Testaments. Wrote three hundred and 
seven letters, some to Catholics, some to 
sceptics and scoffers. Others, to anxious in- 
quirers and mourners. I have evidence of 
three or four Protestants being converted by 
the grace of God, through my poor efforts^ 
and as many Catholics. But the day com- 
ing will declare it. Offered prayer in one 
hundred and eighty Catholic families, and 
read the Bible and tracts. And, in most 
families, have had religious conversation and 
exhortation. Visited poorhouses and pris- 
ons. Conversed with murderers, and tried 
to point them upward for pardon. Visited 



134 WOKSHIP AND WORK. 



the aged, the sick, the anxious, the new- 
born soul and the scoffer. I thank my God 
for the privilege of being an humble mis- 
sionary of the cross. And when I shall be 
called to close my earthly career, may I meet 
many in the kingdom, who have washed 
their robes in the blood of the Lamb. 

^^ Towns visited : Hopkinton, Milford, Hol- 
liston, Sherborn, Dover, Natick, Southboro', 
Ashland, Sudbury, Wayland, Marlboro', 
Weston, West Newton, Newtonville, Lower 
Falls, Brighton, Cambridge, Boston, Charles- 
town, Acton, Concord, Lincoln, West- 
boro', Upton, Millbury, Northboro', Shrews- 
bury, Holden, Worcester, Westfield, Spring- 
field, and Portland and South Paris in 
Maine In some of the above places called 
on but few families ; others I have visited 
several times. Have been generally cordially 
received. Protestants have been very kind, 
and almost invariably made me welcome. 
Trust the extensive accquaintance formed 



ii 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 135 



will result in the furtherance of the gospel, 
and the growth of grace in our hearts. 

(Signed^) Samuel Morse^ aged 65. 
HopJdnton, April 10, 1857." 

It is evident from the above that Deacon 
Morse, after his own method, performed a 
prodigious amount of missionary work. And 
abating some indiscretions of enthusiastic 
zeal and limited knowledge, — the merest 
peccadillos of a faithful Christian life, — he 
performed a good service for his employers 
and the cause of Christian benevolence. His 
health had begun to decline. But the 
special reasons for dissolving his connection 
with the '^American and Foreign Christian 
Union" will be seen from the following official 
letter from Dr. Dickinson, the Secretary at 
Boston : 



136 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



^^NO. 15 CORNHILL, ^ 

Boston^ Jan. 6^ 1857. j 

Deacon Morse^ 

Dear Sir : 

^^ * * * * It has been thought best to have 
your labors in the service of our society 
brought to a close before long. Our means 
are limited^ rather diminishing than increas- 
ing, for a number of months past. Your 
field has had as much labor as its relative 
importance claims, and even more, at present. 
There are large communities of the Roman- 
ists in different parts of the country, to which 
we have yet been unable to send a mission- 
ary. At the same time the Foreign field is 
opening with increasing promise, and claims 
at once a larger share of our attention and 
efforts. I am happy to assure you of our 
entire confidence in your industry, faithful- 
ness and efficiency during the period of your 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 137 



connection with the society as a missionary. 
And, should you deem it desirable, you are 
at liberty to continue your labors a month or 
two longer. 

Yours sincerely, 

B. Dickinson." 



138 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER XV 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



In the year 1845, Deacon Morse conceived 
the plan of endeavoring to be useful by cor- 
respondence. He writes : '^ Up to this time 
I had hardly dared to expose my poor edu- 
cation by writing. Spelling always came 
hard to me." And it would seem to his 
friends sometimes, as though he tried hard 
to spell wrong. Yet it may be borne in 
mind that there is very little correction in 
all he wrote, except with regard to the mere 
matter of spelling. The thoughts are all 
his. And very seldom has there been any 
change made in the words of these extracts. 
But he goes on to say in his journal, ^^ My 
privileges were limited in my youth. Our 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 139 



schools were very short. Never studied 
grammar but six weeks. Hardly dared to 
write out of the family circle. Still I want- 
ed to give vent to thought and feeling for 
the salvation of my fellow sinners. At 
lengthy knowing that I had but one talent, 
I was required to use it. I resolved to make 
a beginning. Wrote to a pauper in a neigh- 
boring town. Learning it was well received 
and some impression produced, I ventured 
to expose myself again. Finding that I 
could write a hand that could be read, I 
thought, if it was not spelt right, my mean- 
ing was understood. So my correspondence 
was increased, and the great day will show 
the results." 

From this time he was moved to write, as 
a means of usefulness, to any one in whose 
person or circumstances he, for any reason, 
felt a special interest. He wrote to those in 
affliction, the widow and the orphan ; his 
teachers in the Sabbath School ; his brethren 



140 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



and sisters in the church, both old and 
young ; and sometimes to strangers ; in all 
cases, however, showing a rare versatility, 
and adapting himself remarkably to their 
various vocations and conditions in life. 
The following is an extract from a letter, 
which he wrote to a young man who was 
about going to sea : 

'^ HoPKiNTON, Aug. 3, 1855. 

Mr. J M , 

Dear Sir : 

f f * * * * * The voyage you are about to 
make is a hard one, and attended with much 
danger. Bat as you have before braved 
dangers and buffeted the storms, you will 
not be a green tar. Nevertheless you will 
need the protecting care of Him who holds 
the winds in his fists, and rides upon the 
storm. Then, my son, (for I write as a 
father,) commit yourself to him by solemn 



WOESHIP AND WORK. 141 



prayer and consecration, ask him to go 
with you, and he will bless you. Carry 
with you the Bible, and do n't be ashamed to 
read it. Take other good books and histories 
which will help you while away many a 
lonely hour. Be humane, but decided and 
firm in your command. Lay out no un- 
necessary work for the Holy Sabbath. Let 
that day, as far as possible, be regarded as 
sacred by reading and prayer. And should 
there be any one on board who can lead in 
devotion, call all hands for worship. Do n't 
suffer the intoxicating bowl to find quarter 
in your proud ship. And gambling, do n't 
let it be so much as named among you. 
Should you enter any port where the Bethel 
flag is unfurled, may you and your men find 
your way there. You may have green 
hands on board, perhaps sons and brothers 
whose mothers and sisters are at home spend- 
ing sleepless nights and saying ^ Oh that I 
could hear from my dear boy' — ^ my poor 



ifl 



142 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



brother, — how can he forget us ? ' Now, 
sir, I ask you to watch over such, guard 
their morals, and see that they write their 
friends. * * * Now, my son, I commit 
you to the care of Him who weighs the moun- 
tains in scales, and makes the sea to boil like 
a pot. May he protect you, when the light- 
nings flash, and the winds blow, and waves 
roar. May your bark plow the mighty surge, 
and you return in safety to your home and 
friends. 

The prayer of your friend, 

Samuel Morse." 

The following was written to a deaf maid- 
en member of the church, in the early part 
of his last sickness : 

"WooDViLLE, Jan. 13, 1859. 

My beloved Sister in Christ : 

^^ Being deprived the privilege of meet- 
ing you in the house of God, I greet thee as 



M 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 143 



one that was in Christ before me^ and as one 
that will endure unto the end, if thou bold- 
est fast thy confidence, knowing in whom 
thou hast believed. 

^^ And, sister, I need not waste time and 
paper to write a long epistle about doctrines 
and creeds, for I know you are well estab- 
lished in the truth. 

'' But I would rather stir up thy pure 
mind by way of remembrance. First, you 
must not think, because you are old and can- 
not hear, and have an old, aching, worn-out 
body to care for, you cannot do anything. 
No ; an old Christian, if he has tried to mag- 
nify his office as a disciple of Jesus, is be- 
loved by God and man. Even the impen- 
itent fear and respect him. If not, when in 
health, why do they shrink away from his 
presence ? But in sickness he is the first 
they want to see. 

'' How good old Abraham was respected 
when he stood up before the children of 



1-44 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



Heth, suing for a burial-place for his dead ! 
Good old Jacob, too, after a long life of toil, 
and mourning for his poor Joseph, and weep- 
ing over the sins, folly, and cruelty of his 
sons, left his home in Canaan, and hastened to 
Egypt to see his beloved son. And there, 
after blessing Pharaoh seventeen years, there 
is not much recorded of him. But, without 
doubt, he was filling up the evening of his 
long and useful life at home, or, perhaps,, 
in visiting his children, imparting his timely 
counsels. But more especially I seem to see 
him bv the wav and in the house, trvins^ to 
make lasting impressions on the minds and 
hearts of his s^randchildren. But his misrht- 
iest effort he put forth as his children and 
grandchildren gathered around his dying 
bed. And, after giving each his prophetic 
blessing, he gathered up himself and died. 

^^ Mary Magdalene was first at the sepul- 
chre. And Paul says, ' Salute Tryphena 
and Tryphosa.' Why ? Because they labor- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 145 



ed in the Lord ; did many good things by 
way of benevolence. And God noticed their 
self-denials and all the hard speeches and 
slanders from their impenitent neighbors. 
Then he says, ' Salute the beloved Persis, 
which labored much in the Lord.' Yes ; she 
lives over there in a secluded place, hardly 
known by the fashionable world. Yes ; me- 
thinks I hear Paul say, ^ I have often wend- 
ed my way to her humble cot ; oft has she 
refreshed me, when faint, from her scanty 
store ; oft has she washed my stripes and 
bathed my temples, as I escaped from a 
ruthless mob.' Many of Paul's converts 
have stolen away to seek her counsels and 
listen to her prayers. 

^^ Now, do n't feel, sister, you can't do 
anything. Why, that laboring desire, that 
prayer, that tear, that kind word, giving that 
tract, visiting that sick family, — all these, 
and ten thousand little things, God do n't 
forget. 

10 



146 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



^' I feel I am a poor, wicked, unfaithful 
servant, and often fear I shall be a cast-away. 
Yet sometimes I feel I am doing more for 
God and to save my fellow men than when 
in health. As my sleep departs in the night- 
watches, I lay my plans for the morrow — 
write to this one, and send a tract to that. 
Up, sister ; take down thy harp ; — tell the 

church to watch. 

Samuel Morse." 

The following is a letter which he wrote 
to a boy eight years old : 

'' HoPKixTON, May 3, 1851. 

Master : 

^^ Your kind letter was duly received, and 
I owe you an apology for deferring an an- 
swer so long. But I think you will pardon 
me when I tell you that the springtime with 
farmers is very hurrying. And, as your 
father is not a farmer, and as you are young 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 147 



and never lived with a farmer, though you 
have seen your father work in the garden, 
and how Mr. P — growed potatoes on the 
Common, and Mr. C— sowed his peas, yet 
none of them are exactly farmers. No ; they 
go into the garden and work in the morn- 
ing when it is cool, and again toward even- 
ing. But a farmer must work all day, rise 
early, milk his cows, bait his team, feed his 
hogs and chickens, eat his breakfast, yoke 
his team, and get into the field at six o'clock, 
and work hard all day every day. So you will 
excuse me. And always respect the farmer. 
For, if there were no farmers, you would 
have no milk, no potatoes, no bread, no pie, 
no warm clothes to wear. 

^^ When you stand out on the Common, 
and look up to the blue sky, you think you 
stand in the middle of the earth. Well, 
when you go to P — to see your grand 
parents, it looks so there ; or when you go to 
H — , or to C — , it looks so there. And if 



148 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



you should go to R — , where your father 
went, it would look just so there. Then 
what a great world this is ! And who made 
it ? Who made the beautiful, bright, and 
warm sun ? — the silver moon, and dotted 
the heavens with bright stars ? You will 
answer, ^ God.' Yes, what a great and pow- 
erful being God is ! Well ; he also makes 
the grass to grow, the little violet, and the 
dewdrop ; yes, the pretty robin and the 
swallow ; the varying seasons too. The 
spring now begins to revive all nature. 
The voice of the turtle is heard in our land. 
Soon the rose will put on her blushing cheek ; 
the trees will blossom ; and the little song- 
sters will warble forth their notes of praise, 
and gambol amid the branches. 

^^ I suppose you have studied astronomy 
some, and that tells us that the thousand lit- 
tle stars we see are suns for other worlds, 
and that this great earth on which so many 
millions live, is but a speck in God's domain ; 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 149 



and that the earth turns round with great 
velocity. When I was a boy, there was an 
old man that used to work for my father. 
He said he thought that those people that 
lived on the other side would fare hard, and 
the wells would turn bottom-side np, and 
spill all the water out. I suppose you attend 
school. Improve your time. You have 
great advantages. "When I was a boy, our 
schools were but six or eight weeks, and, as 
I was the oldest, I had to stay at home, and 
help father. Our school-books were the Tes- 
tament, Webster's Spelling Book, American 
Preceptor,^ and the Assembly's Catechism. 
Our story-books, ^The History of Tom 
Thumb,' and ^ This is the House that Jack 
Built.' 

^^I could tell you a great many incidents 
if I had room ; how I was drafted out in the 
war in 1814; saw a poor soldier shot dead 
while kneeling down beside his coffin. I 
could tell you of bad boys that would not 



150 WOKSHIP AND WORK. 



obey their parents, and they make miserable 
men ; of boys that used to hide behind the 
trees and walls to get out of my sight when 
I was going to church ; of the old house we 
lived in ; the old well ; the grape vine ; the 
tree that had a hole in it, where I used to 
catch bluebirds ; I would tell you how I used 
to visit my grandparents, uncles, and aunts. 
But now they are almost all dead, and I am 
an old man. Yet I love to talk with little 
boys ; because, when I was a boy, I loved 
those that spake to me ; and, when they gave 
me good advice, I would try to remember 
and practise it. We had no Sabbath Schools 
then, and no meeting, except on Sab- 
bath days ; yet we had to say the catechism, 
and go to meeting Thanksgiving and Fast 
Days, and not play till the sun was down. 
Yet I was a wicked boy, and did not love the 
Saviour till I was nineteen years old. 

" I hope you will try to love the Saviour 
when you are young. Do n' t go with b ad 



I 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 151 



boys ; love and obey your parents ; read your 

Bible every day ; and have a place where 

you can go alone ; and pray to God for a 

new heart. And^ as you have one dear 

mother in heaven^ oh^ try to be ready to go 

there too when you die. Won't you write 

me again? That will improve your gifts. 

My regards to your parents, and all your 

little friends. 

Samuel Morse." 

Again, writing to the same lad at the age 
of fifteen, in November, 1858, he says : 

(i My young Friend. 

^^ I have, for a long time, felt a desire to 
know your feelings in regard to your salva- 
tion. Last winter I think the Holy Spirit 
strove with you, and I still hope you are 
not insensible to the claims of the Saviour 
to your best affections. I have noticed the 
falling tear, and the close attention to the 
preached word. 



152 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



" Xow, I want to talk with you just as 

though I were seated by your side, and no- 
body saw us but God. And need I tell you, 
that though you are moral, you are a sinner ; 
that you have broken God's holy law, and 
how many times you have grieved away the 
Holy Spirit ? — how many prayers your 
father and mother have sent up to heaven 
for you ?****** Your sainted moth- 
er consecrated you to her Saviour, and before 
your remembrance, she passed from earth to 
heaven. But the last dedication of her boy, 
her last prayer for her darling, the last look, 
as she commended her loved one to her God, 
bids me hope that you will set out, while 
young, to do those things you know would 
please her. ***** Your privileges have 
been more than most others. And I do 
hope you will come out clear, and gladden 
the hearts of your parents, and those who 
sympathized with a dying mother by pledg- 
ing their prayers and charities for your bene- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 153 



fit. In conclusion let me say, Exam- 
ine yourself and come to the Saviour now ; 
don't wait for greater conviction. Decide^ 
at once, to follow Christ. I wish you would 
write me just how you feel, and believe^'me 
your friend^ 

Samuel Morse." 



154 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER XVI . 

CORRESPONDENCE CONTINUED. 

Living remote from his minister^ Deacon 
Morse would often address him by letter. 
And sometimes^ when his pastor was absent 
from his people^ he would be encouraged by 
a letter from his good deacon. Take the fol- 
lowing extract for a specimen when he was on 
a journey to the West — 

" HoPKiNTON^ Thursday morning, ^ 

June 13, 1853. ) 
Respected Pastor. 

^^ I have, for a few days past, felt I was 
almost useless. I can't get out to meeting ; 
cannot work, and have been obliged to lay 
aside my pen on account of a felon on my 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 155 



finger. It is not so painful now. Yet it is 
with a good deal of difficulty I can hold my 
pen. You will excuse me^ dear brother, 
while I attempt to speak a word to cheer 
you on in duty. I know you have many 
trials. But I think God has thus far enabled 
you to rise above them all. So long, dear 
brother, as you trust in him, and preach the 
preaching he bids you, do n't fear. When I 
consider how you came among us, and that 
more than fourteen years have passed away 
since you first stood on Zion's walls, and so 
faithfully and fearlessly sounded the alarm 
in Zion, and how signally God has owned 
and blessed your labors among us, I say, 
brother, do n't fear ; God has stood by you 
in many dark hours, and he will fit you for 
many more. *Be strong and of good 
courage.' Oh that I could feel more con- 
fidence in my Saviour ! Many a time, when 
low and desponding, have I been cheered on 
to duty by your example and counsel. And 



156 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



may you be spared many years more to point 
this dear people to the Lamb of God." * * 
Then he adds to his pastor's wife, who 
was absent with her husband, delicately and 
kindly appreciating her position and feelings. 

^^ Dear Madam : 

^' I trust you will never feel that you 
are not wanted here. Be assured that you 
share the mutual love and esteem that are 
lavished upon your husband. I know very 
well your place is one hard to fill, coming 
after one so useful, so beloved, and one the 
sisters all looked up to for counsel. Do n't 
wonder you sometimes feel sad, and want to 
get away. * * * 

Then he begins his address again to 
both. 

^^Dear Brother and Sister : 

"I thought I had done, but ten thou- 
sand thoughts come rushing through my 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 157 



mind. Oh the relation you sustain to this 
people ! Oh the responsibilities ! They are 
enough to weigh down your spirits. To 
stand between the living and the dead ; to 
be a savor of life to some, and a savor of 
death to others, how awful ! Oh God, wilt 
thou strengthen and sustain thy servants ? 
Oh how much grace you need, how much 
humility, self-denial, abounding love, and 
deep-toned piety ! Oh that I could be of 
some humble service to you! Oh, will you 
not forgive all that you have seen amiss ? 
How many times you have had occasion to 
weep over my cold neglect and unwilling- 
ness to take up my cross, — a thousand in- 
consistencies ! 

'' But I seem to look forward a little lon- 
ger, and all will be over with me on earth. 
Unconverted children, I fear I shall meet at 
the bar of God ! Oh, what is this church 
doing to save sinners ! Few feel the worth 
of souls ! Lord, come and revive us again. 



158 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



Oh, I want, brother and sister, to encourage 
you on. Do n't linger. But I must stop. 
I have to write with my forefinger muf- 
fled witn a heavy poultice. Excuse me, 
and believe me your friend. 

S, Morse." 

The following was written to a young man 
just entered upon his ministerial work, and 
who supplied the pulpit a Sabbath or two 
during the vacation of the deacon's pastor. 
And coming from an humble layman speak- 
ing purely from th^ effect of preaching upon 
his own hearty it may serve as a useful les- 
son to other young ministers, on the art of 
sacred rhetoric. It is so regarded and im- 
proved by the good brother to whom it was 

addressed : 

'' August 16, 18 — . 

Mr. , my young Brother : 

" I listened with much interest to two 
well written, well timed, and, if I am a 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 159 



judge^ truly gospel sermons from you yes- 
terday. And the framework and scripture 
illustrations were far beyond your years^ un- 
less I misjudge your age. It was said that, 
when the lamented Thomas Spencer en- 
tered the pulpit, a stranger took him to be a 
boy who had missed his way, and strolled 
into the desk. 

^' My brother, many long years have passed 
away since you commenced a course of study 
to qualify yourself for an ambassador of Jesus 
Christ, a herald of salvation to lost and dy- 
ing . men. Your field, at present, is the 
world ; and your daily prayer is, ^ Lord, 
how shall I best glorify thee, and do the 
most to save sinners ? ' Paul says to his 
Corinthian brethren, ^ But covet earnestly 
the best gifts.' Will you, my son, suffer 
me to give you a few words of advice ? We 
always want to know how to do things to 
accomplish the best results. I know men 
are made with a diversity of gifts. I know 



160 WOKSHIP AND WORK, 



too the power of habit. But the capability 
of the mind for improvement is wonderful. 
^^Youwillfind enough to stimulate a young 
minister in Paul's directions to Timothy, 
second book. Read it, my son. I noticed 
you was much confined to your notes. It 
will require much effort to break from that 
habit. But you can do it. Not, perhaps, 
all at once. Write your sermons ; then com- 
mit. Begin now. Manner has much to do 
in effecting the matter. Earnestness is neces- 
sary to awaken interest. True humility gives 
boldness. Confidence, devoid of conceit, is a 
virtue that ought to be coveted in a public 
speaker. But ^ how shall I break away 
from reading my sermons ? ' By committing 
as much as possible. Have the divisions 
and subdivisions before you. Then lead off 
under those heads as your heart dictates. 
And when you come to the improvement or 
application, close your book, and apply with 
an overflowing heart. Bring some model 



WOKSHIP AND WORK. 161 



before you. Take Paul before Agrippa, 
Whiteiield^ Payson, or some modern pattern 
orator. Some gestures are indispensable, — 
now an erect posture^— -then stooping over^ 
hands talking ! — then facing to the right or 
to the left ; — now and then a raised voice^ as 
^ Lazarus^ come forth : ' — or a soft^ plaint- 
ive strain, as, ^ Hoy/ can I give thee up, 
Ephraim ? ' 

'^ I know, brother, how you feel. You are 
afraid of the charge of ostentation or big- 
otry. But you must throw off these tram- 
mels. ' Let no man despise thy youth.' 

'^ I have written these things, my young 
brother, because I love a youthful minister, 
and where I know there is a foundation to 
work upon. I do feel anxious to have him 
covet the best gifts. Piety and holy living 
are indispensable. Some field the Lord is 
desiring you to cultivate. Carry with you 
the gospel axe, the pruning-hook, and the 
plane. ' Sermons are sickles.' Make them 
n 



163 WORSHIP AND ^VOEK. 



cut. Do n't be afraid of leaving ragged 

points unpolished. 

^^ While on my mission^ I visited a school. 

And one line of the children's song was : 

^I'll make a mark.' Yes, brother, you 

will try and make a mark, that, with the 

help of God, will tell on eternity. You will 

excuse me for this unasked advice, and take it 

for what it is worth, and ever believe me 

your friend. 

Samuel Morse." 

The correspondence of Deacon Morse was 
confined, for the most part, to those in the 
humbler walks of life. But, with a suitable 
apology, it was perhaps not uncommon for 
him to write to persons in high official sta- 
tions, to remind them affectionately of their 
moral and Christian obligations, and to urge 
them to a faithful discharge of their duties 
to both God and man. Representatives, 
senators and governors could testify to this 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 163 



method of conveying to them his kind and 
earnest admonitions. Whether wisely or 
unwisely, he flattered himself, with the best 
of motives, that in this way, God might be 
pleased to use the weak things of the world 
to confound the mighty. And the following 
extract from a letter to a distinguished Mas- 
sachusetts statesman and member of Con- 
ress, will serve as a specimen : 

" With what eagerness did I grasp the 
daily papers while you stood for more than 
eight long weeks before the country, a lead- 
ing candidate for the speakership ! Never, 
since the day that John Quincy Adams dared 
to stand up in his place and plead for the 
right of petition, had this country felt such 
intense anxiety. With what joy and light- 
ning speed was it telegraphed through the 
country that justice and principle had once 
triumphed in the halls of Congress ! 

'^ You need wisdom and strength from on 
high. Ask it of Him who imparted liberally 



164 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



to him who truly desires it. Washington 
was a man of prayer. John Quincy Adams 
read his Bible daily. General Harrison, on 
his way to Congress to fill the Presidential 
chair, called at the old Mansion House, and 
visited the little room where his mother used 
to take him while a little boy to kneel by her 
side as she laid her hand on his head and 
commended him to God in prayer. A few 
years ago, when Governor Slade was a mem- 
ber of Congress, I learned that he, and 
Honorable J. R. Giddings and a few mem- 
bers used to hold prayer meetings. O, sir, 
could there be such meetings now among 
the members of Congress, I should hope 
for my country. 

^' You m-ay wonder who this illiterate stran- 
ger is. I am a farmer. For sixty years I 
followed my plow. For two and a half I 
have been laboring in the service of the 
^ American and Foreign Christian Union,' 
visiting Catholic and other families. Visited 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 165 



more than seven thousand. Visit schools 
also for the purpose of arousing the energies 
of scholars in learning, and have pledged 
nearly seven thousand against the use of in- 
toxicating drink and tobacco. * « * 

'^ Heaven smile on our guilty land^ and 
roll back the tide of oppression, intemper- 
ance, infidelity, and popery. 

Yours with respect. 

Samuel Morse." 



166 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CORRESPOXDEXCE COyTI>TED. 

Among his other corresponclence, Deacon 
Morse wrote various communications for 
public gatherings and the press. The fol- 
lowing was addressed to a Sabbath School 
Convention : 

^^ To the Committee of Arrangements of the 
grand celebration of Sabbath Schools 
to convene at Framingham Grove the 
30th of August 1854. 

Gentlemen : 

'^ It would have afforded me great satis- 
faction to be present at your festive board 
with the Sabbath Schools. I have had the 
honor of being superintendent for sixteen 



Y/OHSHIP AND Y/OEK. 167 



years. Sickness prevents my attendance 
with you. One bright gem of our school in 
my family has been prostrated with fever for 
five weeks. And many times have we ex- 
pected to be called to see her die. 

" But^ gentlemen, I am limited to seven 
minutes, and must be brief. And first, I 
say that much more credit is due to our ex- 
cellent teachers for the interest kept up in 
our school than to the superintendant. Our 
present number, this summer, pleasant Sab- 
baths, is about one hundred and sixty. Since 
we adopted the plan of systematic benevo- 
lence, we have averaged more than a hundred 
dollars a year. We have sent off" more than 
thirty libraries ; made about twenty Life 
Members of the Massachusetts Sabbath School 
Society, sent out several boxes of clothing to 
the poor missionary, and the poor fugitives in 
Canada. And during the last two or three 
years, twenty-four have committed the As- 
sembly's Catechism ; and some twenty have 



68 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



professed to have found the Saviour. At 
present we have to mourn the absence of 
the Holy Spirit. 

^^ I trust, gentlemen, you will have a 
pleasant gathering. I should like to peep in 
on those sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks, and 
hear them sing, and sit with folded hands 
while superintendents and pastors address 
them. Ask them to look back and think of 
some sick sister or lame brother who could 
not come. And, did they leave any poor 
orphans behind ? I hope not. And when 
they return home, if they think of one poor 
drunkard's child that does not go to the 
Sabbath School, let them hasten before 
another Sabbath, and see him, and speak some 
kind word to him. If it is for want of a 
dress, or a pair of shoes, or bonnet, let them 
hasten back to their mothers, and tell them 
they feel unhappy to leave them behind to 
perish while they have a plenty and to spare. 
Say, ^ O mother, may I not give Lucy that 




WORSHIP AND WORK. 169 



dress you thought was not quite good 
enough for me^ and Mary that bonnet ? Oh 
how happy they will be ! I thought Lucy's 
and Mary's mother cried when I asked them 
to go to the Sabbath School.' 

^^ And then^ there are the poor children 
away out West. I suppose that Rev. Mr. 
BuUard will be there to tell you all about 
them, and how you must get money to send 
out books. Then there is the ' Musquito ' 
story, and ^ Donkey and 1/ and a score of 
others he will tell you, so you won't want to 
buy any candy for a month. 

^' But I shall run out my time soon. So I 
will say a word about union. Now we have 
heard the politicians say a great deal about 
preserving the Union. And they have really 
frightened a great many men, so that they 
have submitted to the aggressions of the 
slave power, till they have got Texas, the 
Mexican War, the Fugitive Slave bill, and 



170 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



the Compromise bill^ and all to preserve the 
Union. 

^^Xow vre don't want any such union to 
hold our Sabbath Schools together. We want 
love to each other. And I think the gath- 
ering you will have to-day shows that we 
have it. Let the Methodists^ Baptists, and 
Congregationalists have their separate organ- 
izations, constitutions, and question books. 
But we will have union. Why, gentlemen, 
when I was a boy, the Methodists were called 
^ ranters, bawling, barking, and frothing like 
mad dogs ! ' — the Baptists a race of ^ bigot- 
ed, self-righteous, illiberal fanatics,' and the 
Congregationalists or Orthodox, ' brimstone- 
corner fatalists, making God a respecter 
of persons.' Now these hard names are 
laid aside ; and, although we labor separate- 
ly, and sacrifice no principles, yet we love 
one another. 

" I would speak, were there time, of visit- 
ing each other's schools, and the acquaintance 



WORSHIP AND WOEK. 171 



such social gatherings would be likely to 
form ; — of the injury professors are doing 
in not patronizing the Sabbath School by 
their presence ; — of more personal effort in 
getting scholars to attend ; — of the teacher's 
responsibility ; — of the importance of train- 
ing our youth to habits of benevolence ; and^ 
should this gathering prove beneficial^ of 
rallying again another year. 

*^ Soon the scene will commence of gather- 
ing around the festive board. I v/ish I could 
be there. I should forget, for the moment, 
that my head was all whitened for the grave. 
I should feel young as I listened to the 
songs of children. And I would mount the 
stand, and say to the hundreds of children 
and youth before me ; ' Hearken ! there is a 
viper before you. Thousands have been 
bitten by him. He is lurking in our villages. 
You have seen men and boys bitten, and I 
am afraid he will bite you, unless you pledge 
before he entices.' ' Pledge to what ? ' you 



172 WORSHIP AND ^VORK. 



ask. Pledge, by holding up your right 
hand, here in Framingham Grove, before 
these ministers, superintendents, teachers and 
parents, that you will never drink any thing 
that will intoxicate, nor use in any form that 
nasty narcotic called tobacco. I should love 
to add all your names to the more than 
two thousand that I have already obtained." 
He wrote articles repeatedly which were 
published in the ^^ Well Sjjring " and the 
^^ Congregatio?iaUst.^^ The following ap- 
peared in the Congregalionalist, giving his 
views of protracted meetings, dated Aug. 4, 
1856: 

" Messrs Editors : — I was rejoiced to 
notice, in your valuable paper of August 1, an 
account of a protracted meeting lately held in 
Eehoboth and vicinity. It brought to my 
mind the scenes of 1831—2, when protracted 
meetings were so signally blessed in various 
churches. Our sainted Phelps of Hopkinton, 



WOUSHIP AND WORK. 173 



Perry of Mendon^ and Fay of Northboro', 
reaped golden harvests of souls. 

'^ And^ as I write^ I seem to see old Dr. 
Beecher^ in the midst of a dense crowd, raise 
his glasses, and, with streaming eyes and 
overflowing heart, urge poor sinners to Christ. 
Yes, and that old ladyof seventy-five, who was 
induced to go four and a half miles to attend 
this feast of tabernacles, was constrained to 
yield her heart to Christ. She lived ten 
years to test her love. And often has she 
referred to that glorious meeting as the 
means of her salvation. There is a sacred- 
ness which clusters around those blessed 
days of revival, which the churches would do 
well to bring to remembrance — each, what 
is in its own vicinity. In mine, and I will add 
Upton, with its beloved Wood ; HoUiston, 
With its Fitch ; Natick, with its Moore ; 
Framingham, with its Trask ; and Southboro', 
with its Follet. 

'^ But why w^ere those blessed meetings 



174 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



laid aside ? Ah ! the cry was raised in 
some quarters that they brought so many 
false professors into the churches ! 

'^ Now, Messrs Editors, I would ask, in all 
candor, whether there were more hypocriti- 
cal professors, judging by their fruits, re- 
ceived then, according to their numbers, than 
there have been since ? I know very well 
there were preparations made on the part of 
the church before the meeting to secure 
God's blessing. So there must be now. 
The churches must humble themselves before 
the Lord, the stumbling-blocks taken out of 
the way, and a holy reliance felt on the Holy 
Spirit. 

"Let a special meeting of a given church 
be called. Let the anxious pastor say, 
" Brethren and sisters, I feel that it is high 
time to awake. Souls are perishing, and 
something must be done. I have been in- 
quiring of the Lord what more I can do ? 
And now, I ask you, what you are willing 



WORSHIP AND WOUK. 175 



to do. Are you individually willing to 
make sacrifices and earnest efforts for the re- 
vival of God's work among us ? Shall we^ 
in two months from this time, hold a pro- 
tracted meeting ? Will you remember that 
contemplated meeting in all your secret de- 
votions ? Will you attend a weekly prayer 
meeting to ask the Holy Spirit's influence on 
the meeting ? Will you make a new conse- 
cration of your hearts unto the Lord ? 

'^ Let this be done, and I doubt not, those 
joyful days of revival, from the presence of 
the Lord, will again be enjoyed. There Dr. 
Beecher will seem to renew his youth again. 
Then will the jarring elements of our 
churches be healed, and they will look forth 
fair as the moon, and clear as the sun ? 
Then will the monster sins of slavery and 
intemperance hide their heads ; and our dis- 
tracted country be rocked to peace and 
quiet." 

The following extracts are from a com- 



176 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



munication, which he sent to the same paper 
at a latter date : 

^' To THE Editors of the 

Congregation ALiST. 

Gentlemen : Havmg visited most of the 
towns and churches in South Middlesex as a 
colporter, three or four years past, and hav- 
ing a desire to see the place where Emmons, 
the great New England divine, lived and 
labored so long, I left my home on the 
morning of one of the beautiful days of May. 
All nature seemed springing into life ; the 
trees just beginning to put forth their blos- 
soms, the birds to choose their mates, the 
farmer to cast his seed into the earth, the 
flocks to graze in the meadows, the insects 
to hum in the air, while the little rills from 
the hill sides came murmuring down to swell 
the crooked rivulets that skirt the meadow, 
silently winding their way to join the majes- 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 177 



tic river and to be swallowed up in the 
mighty ocean. 

My way led me through the beautiful 
town of Holliston that is at this time so 
signally blessed by the conversion of scores 
and hundreds of both societies to gladden 
the hearts of their faithful pastors. It was 
hei^e the faithful Dickinson sowed the seed, 
and watered it with his tears ; after which, 
Wheaton^ Fitch, and others gathered the 
fruits. 

"Leaving Holliston, I soon found myself in 
the beautiful village of West Medway. 
Here, too, the Lord is blessing the labors of 
the venerable Dr. Ide, who, for nearly fifty 
years, has labored faithfully. And now, as 
though God would cheer in old age his ser- 
vant, a gracious work is progressing among 
his people, — though silently, yet effectually. 
Never was a pastor more respected and be- 
loved by a people. After refreshments were 
served, I was delighted to hear my venerable 

12 



178 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



host relate some of the events and incidents 
of his ministry. Dr, Ide has one son settled 
in the gospel ministry, and another preparing 
for the sacred office. His daughter is the 
■widow of the martyr Torrey. 

^^ Passing through this village, one hour's 
ride brought me into Franklin. Some good 
farms skirt the road side. The village 
schoolhouse and the small manufactory in 
the distance meet the eye. But before the 
stranger enters the village, as if to excite 
meditation^ and prepare the eye to gaze with 
more intense delight on the object sought, 
one has to pass a long way of shrubbery, no 
house to be seen, no flocks grazing there, 
and he begins to ask himself ^ Where is 
Franklin ? ' 

^^ But soon the desert begins to blossom. 
The eye soon rests on the place made vener- 
able by the name it bears, — Franklin, from 
whom the town received a valuable library, 
which is held in veneration for its donor's 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 179 



sake. There is the towering spire and the 
splendid mansion. The straw bonnet manu- 
factory, which has enriched its owner, and 
given employment to so many, is the mart of 
the place. But the great curiosity that 
meets the stranger is the elegant monument 
erected in memory of the venerable pastor, 
Kev. Dr. Emmons, standing in the middle of 
a beautiful green. * * * 

" The Eev. Samuel Hunt, the third pastor 
after Dr. Emmons, is now the minister. 
And to follow so soon in the footsteps of 
that great divine must require much wisdom 
and skill. Every heresy is soon detected. 
Although but few of the old landmarks still 
survive, yet their descendants will not soon 
forget to walk in the footsteps of their 
fathers. Making it my home at Brother 
Hunt's, I visited some families ; — several 
aged people. Among the rest, Mr. and Mrs. 
Thayer, now aged eighty, from whom I learn- 
ed much of Dr. Emmons. Visited the ceme- 



180 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



terj, — stood by the grave of the divine, — 
his two wives and children. A plain old- 
fashioned slatestone marks his bed. His 
name will live after those of warriors and 
statesmen shall have been obliterated. In 
the evening, accompanied the pastor to the 
place of prayer. Although no special inter- 
est is manifest, yet I could see many respon- 
ses, ^ Lord, revive thy work,' in the eye, and 
hear them in the exhortations. Felt I was 
in a solemn place. For Dr. Emmons had 
been there, and wielded God's truth mightily. 
The house and vestry have been remodeled 
since his death. None of the old furniture 
in the vestry where we were assembled but 
the desk with its old, worn cushions. As I 
stood by it, I thought how often the great 
expounder had spread his Bible there while 
unfolding its glorious truths, which were life 
unto life to some, and death unto death to 
others. 

^^ Next day, after leaving my kind host, vis- 



WOESHIP AND WORK. 181 



I 



ited Rev. Mr. Thayer ; with him visited a 
sick lady, who is rich in good works. And 
after making a few calls, left the place, and 
FraiMin I shall ever cherish in my mem- 
ory." 



182 ^VORSHIP AND WORK. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CORRESPONDENCE CONTINUED. 

It is fitting to close this exhibition of Deacon 
Morse's correspondence with two or three 
communications^ which he addressed to his 
pastor and his beloved church from his sick 
rcom^ during his last illness. 

'^ WOODYILLE^ ^ 

Wednesday morning, Dec. 29, '58 ^ 

Eey. 

My dear Pastor : 

" I am vet shut up in my front room. But 
I have many things to comfort me. I am 
not racked with severe pain. I have a good 
home, while my Saviour had none. I have 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 183 



a kind wife to wait on me. And last of all, 
I have a hope I am a Christian though very 
nnworthv. 

" When I pass many sleepless hours in the 
night watches, I think over things past, pres- 
ent, and to come. I think how near I am 
to my journey's end. I think of my beloved 
church, and how many years I have been 
permitted to meet them in the house of 
God, in the prayer meeting, and the Sab- 
bath School. Precious seasons ! but nearly 
all over now. I thing of the loved ones 
trained and brought to Jesus in our Sabbath 
School. I love to read over the names of 
such. And when I turn to the catalogue of 
our Infant class, some of whom are now 
married, some teachers, some moved away, 
and some in heaven, I praise and thank my 
God for giving me a place to walk among 
them in former days, and a hope to meet 
them in glory. 

'' My dear pastor, I think of you, how you 



184 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



came among us in your youth ; you have, as 
it were, grown up with us. These twenty 
years you have watched over us by night and 
by day. You have lifted up your voice Hke 
a trumpet, where thou sawest the enemy 
coming. You have not turned to us the 
sick and the lean ; these thou hast kept to 
thyself, and given us the healthy and the fat. 
While drought by day, and frost by night, have 
consumed thy health, and worn thy frame, 
we, as a people, have grown fat. Thou hast 
impoverished thyself to make us rich. O, my 
brother, thou hast been like a Jonathan to 
David, while an ungrateful Saul, at times, 
has been seeking thy life. 

" But thou hast outridden the storm, and 
those twenty years have given you a home, 
and a burial among us. Next Sabbath, my 
seat will be empty at the table. Hope you 
and the church, will, in deed and in truth, 
meet the Saviour there. 

^^ Brother, I feel I have a work to do at 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 185 



home, — and as I was wakeful last night, I 
thought of this one and that I might try to 

save. The most prominent was Mr. J-— 

C ; poor man, no happiness here, none 

in prospect. I am going to write him. Will 
you pray it may be set home by the Holy 
Ghost ? How is Sister Bowker ? Suppose 
she is almost home. Tell Brother Bowker to 
trust in God, and stand up for Jesus. How 

is E W ? Tell him to ride up, 

and bring his pastor, and see me. Greet 
Sister Guy ; Brother and Sisters Walker and 
Greenwood j salute Tryphena and all the saints. 
^^ Now, my pastor, I want you to forgive 
everything you have seen in me that has 
grieved you, I have a great conflict with 
sin, and a wicked heart. I hope, if I ever 
get out again, to show more of the spirit of 
Christ. My kind regards to Mrs. W. 
From your friend, 

S. MOKSE." 

^^P. S. — My health has improved a little." 



186 Yv'ORSHIP AND ^^'OP.K. 



I 



'' Sab. -i P. M., March 20, 1859. ) 
Beloved Pastck : 

^•' Having a few moments to address you, 
with an opportunity to forward by my son, I 
take my pen to send a few hasty hnes. On 
some accounts my heahh is improved, but 
others keep me back. I cannot sit to write, 
— have piled two rude boxes on the top of 
my table, and with a trembling hand I now 
write you. 

^^ I have read, the week past, ^ The Higher 
Christian Life.^ While alone in my room, 
it brought me often upon my knees. Oh, 
the grand secret of holy living ; faith in 
Christ ; Christ in the soul ; living in Christ ; 
walking in Christ ; Christ everywhere ; at 
home, abroad, in company or alone, sick or 
well ; justification through faith. It made 
me feel I have never vet learned the wav to 



WORSHIP AND WOUK. 187 



. do good^ or to receive good. Have a hope 
I experienced the new birth forty-six years 
ago. But the second birth^ I fear^ I never 
had. 

^^ Can we not see now, why we have had so 
few revivals ? Tried and tried, I fear, in 
our own strength. Oh, if I could get in the 
track of those instanced, how happy ! how 
useful ! Yes, my brother, could I lay all 
my burden on Christ — let him do the work, 
— and I, only, as the earthen pitcher, to bear 
the blessed gospel from door to door ; Christ 
the foundation, finishing, and top-stone, in 
the glorious fabric of salvation; then, then 
would sinners fly, like doves to their win- 
dows. Do n't wonder the jailer trembled 
when he heard the prayer and praise of Paul 
and Silas, in their chains at midnight. Do n't 
wonder, that, when Peter went down to 
Caesarea, at the call of Cornelius, who had 
invited his gentile neighbors to come in, the 
Holy Ghost came upon them. Do n't won- 



188 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



der, that, on the day of Pentecost, three thou- 
sand were converted. Because, in every 
instance, Jesus Christ was set forth as the 
great atoning sacrifice. ' In his name we 
stand forth before you, as his witnesses, that 
God raised him from the dead, whom ye 
slew and hanged on the tree.' Yes, Peter 
had experienced the second conversion, and 
did not preach himself, but Jesus Christ the 
Lord, 

'^ Do n't it give you new courage, my 
brother, to start anew ? Oh, that this church 
would rest awhile, and seek this new and 
living way. Oh, I feel I have been a cum- 
berer of the ground. Oh, that now, at the 
age of sixty-seven, I may be restored so I 
can again go from house to house, with a 
softened heart and weeping eyes, and try to 
bring a bride to my Master ! 

^^ Brother, I am far from feeling right ; I 
need humility, humble trust, sanctified aflfec- 
tions, holy boldness, a heart full of faith. 



WORSHIP AND WOUK. 189 



sanctified faith ; and then God would work 
by me^ though weak, and multiply converts 
like the morning dew. I want to see you 
and Brother Forbes again. Come, and stop 
long enough to help each other in this new 
and living way. 

From your friend and brother, 

S. Morse." 

Such an example of pious zeal and expres- 
sion of interest, affection and confidence, on 
the part of a parishioner, could not fail to 
comfort and encourage his pastor, and prompt 
him to greater diligence in the Master's work. 
And if there were more such parishioners 
and deacons, there could not fail to be more 
faithful ministers. 

But Deacon Morse loved his church as 
well as his minister, and, even on his dying 
bed, labored to quicken his brethren in their 
duty. This will be seen by the following, 
which was addressed, through his pastor, to 
the church : 



190 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



^^HoPKiNTON, July 12, 1S59. 
My Beloved Pastor : 

^^ From a sick bed, I arise to address a few 
lines, through you, to our beloved church. 

^^ My beloved : After mingling my poor 
services with yours in the church of our 
common Lord, for more than forty-six years, 
disease has at last overtaken me with such 
violence, I hardly dare to hope I shall person- 
ally labor any more with you, or hear your 
familiar voices any more in the conference 
room, or the Sabbath School. And, as the 
fathers and the mothers are fast retreating, 
and the young soldiers are martialing their 
strength to the battle, you will suffer me, in 
few words, to give you a father's blessing. 
And how shall I do it any better than by re- 
ferring you to Peter, when old age and in- 
firmities had overtaken him ? 

'' ' Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 191 



this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you 
in remembrance. 

'^ ' Knowing that shortly I must put off 
this, my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus 
Christ hath showed me. 

'' ' Moreover, I will, that ye may be able, 
after my decease, to have these things 
always in remembrance.' 

^^ How Peter loved the church ever after 
committing that awful sin of denying his 
Lord ! So every Christian will love the 
church. And his love will manifest itself by 
self-denial, and great personal effort to main- 
tain its peace and prosperity. As Peter's life 
had been long and useful, he did not stop at 
this time to introduce and enlarge upon a 
long array of arguments upon the fundamen- 
tal doctrines ; but exhorted simply to add 
to their faith, virtue ; to their virtue, knowl- 
edge ; to their knowledge, temperance ; to 
their temperance, brotherly kindness ; and 
to brotherly kindness, charity. 



I 



192 ^VORSKIP AXD WORK. 



^' ^ But he that lacketh these things is blind, 
and cannot see afar off^ and hath forgotten he 
was purged from his old sins. 

'^ ^ Wherefore, the rather, brethren, give 
diHo:ence to make vour callinsr and election 



sure 



'' For this church I have long labored. You 
are my brethren. And to you, I must short- 
ly delegate back the trust you have reposed 
in me. I thank you for all your kindness. 
As my home has been so far from the center, 
I have often partaken of your hospitalities. 
The countenances of your children are fa- 
miliar. God grant my feeble efforts among 
them may not all be lost. I want to see 
them by my bedside. 

^^ And now, my beloved, as my life is eb- 
bing to its close, will you suffer me a few 
words of advice, to be remembered after my 
decease ! 

^^ Let the cause of Christ be your cause. 
^ Except ye deny yourselves and take up the 



WORSHIP AND Y/ORK. 193 



cross^ ye cannot be Christ's disciples/ 
When the cause of Christ and the v/orld 
clash^ hark ! how will you decide ? Be 
steadfast in the truth. Oh how Peter 
mourned oyer his instability ! Sometimes we 
say^ of such a man or woman^ ^ You know 
just where to find them' — ^ straight, go 
ahead^, no dodging there ! ' Ah ! that is the 
man who will be useful. 

^^Be very careful of the reputation of each 
other. Backbiting is like canker to the soul. 
If a brother or sister is misrepresented^ it is 
our duty to see that a blot is not permitted 
to settle down upon his or her Christian 
character. If a brother is in fault, go thy- 
self, and with kindness reclaim him. Do n't 
tell it first to thy neighbor. 

" Watch over the lambs. Take that young 
brother or sister, and lead them to Jesus. 
After they get into the church, older Chris- 
tians too often neglect them. Put them for- 
ward, — call on them to speak and i)ray. 

13 



194 AVORSHIP AXD WOEK. 



Then they will be helps m the church, 
instead of ^Yeights ; and under this head, let 
me say, do n't pass by strangers. Go, speak 
to that young man. Let him know he is not 
among strangers. And, O, that mother will 
rise up in judgment, and call you blessed. 

^^'Be kind to your pastor. Paul asked the 
prayers of the church for him, that ^ he might 
be delivered froQi the unjust and cruel man.' 
Yes, ministers are earthen vessels. Let us 
be careful how we mar those vessels from 
which our children sip. Let us bear the 
pastor's burthens with him. He needs our 
sympathy ; he is nothing but a man ; he 
needs to be fed, clothed, and housed, and he 
is worthy of his hire. Oh, then be united in 
his support. God will bless a church and 
minister, who mutually take each other by 
the hand, and each of whom does his part in 
bearing the ark. 

^' And as a church and parish, I under- 
stand, you have resolved to repair the house 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 195 



of the Lord. Go on^ my brethren^ unitedly. 
Oh let there be no discord, —no jealousy. 
Let pastor and people be one. And 
although I may never be permitted to mingle 
with you in those outward courts, I have a 
hope of meeting you in those heavenly man- 
sions. 

^^ Let prayer and alms go together. Always 
ask the Lord how much you ought to give, 
and mind the response. Do n't complain of 
your minister for presenting objects of 
charity. Make your old coat do a little 
longer rather than rob God's poor, or drown 
the missionary cry, ^ Come over and help 
us:' 

'' Never shove a responsibility or a duty 
off your own shoulder upon your neighbor, 
when you are able to do it. 

'' Do n't let the prospect of rain, or a warm 
sun, or dasty roads, keep you ♦ from the 
house of God. Be w4iole-day worshippers. 

^^ Finally, brethren, farewell; be perfect ; 



196 y\^0PvSiiiP A^"D woek. 



be of good comfort ; be of one mind ; live 
in peace ; and the God of love and peace be 
^'ith you. 

Samuel Morse." 



I 



WORSHIP AND WOEK. 197 



C II A P T E S XIX. 

SUMMARY. 

We have seen that Deacon Morse loved both 
the sanctuary and vmeyard of the Lord. 
And it may be inferred that he was a con- 
stant and consistent supporter of their institu- 
tions. Even when he was overruled by his 
brethren in the churchy or associates in the 
parish^ he never was the man to desert his 
post, and leave others to bear the burthens 
alone. Indeed, in such an ardent love and 
reverence for the house of God and its ordi- 
nances, it is easy to find the true secret of 
his consistency and steadfastness. He was a 
firm friend of his minister. And though he 
might give signs of disappointment and sad- 
ness when his pastor did not entirely agree 



198 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



with him in opinion and plans of usefulness, 
yet his habit was to yield his own judg- 
ment. Many a time also did he go to his 
pastor, especially when he thought he was 
tried in his circumstances, to tender his sym- 
pathy, encourage him to persevere in duty, 
and propose a season of social prayer. In 
this very way, he made his pastor feel care- 
ful how he differed from him, and, especially, 
how he opposed any proposition of Deacon 
Morse. And all deacons, as well as other 
Christians, may learn from his example how 
to influence ministers or any of their fellow 
disciples. 

But Deacon Morse was not a sectarian. 
Mere- denominational ties sat lightly upon 
him. He loved all who bore the image of 
his Saviour, and was sure to be attracted by 
Christians of M^hatever name, who were 
actuated by a zeal for worship and work 
similar to his own. He would rather be at 
work with those who would vrork in another 



WOKSIIIP AND Y/ORK. 199 



clenominatioii than to be doing nothing in 
his own to promote the cause of the great 
Master. And his friendly regard^ particu- 
larly for the Baptists^ was no doubt increased 
by the fact of his parents becoming Baptists, 
and tYv^o of his brothers Baptist ministers ; 
and also, the fact that there was a Baptist 
church in his own neighborhood, the meet- 
ings of which it Y/as frequently convenient 
and pleasant for him to attend, especially 
after he began to feel the infirmities of age. 
Yet he retained a predominant attachment to 
his own churchy and remained a Congrega- 
tionalist to the end of life. 

In theology, he was orthodox. x\nd 
though not extensively read in the systems, 
but reasoning out of the Scriptures, and his 
own deep experience, he generally distin- 
guished well the fundamental doctrines of 
divine grace. He firmly believed in hu- 
man depravity, atonement by the death and 
sufferings of Christ, justification by faith, the 



200 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



necessity of regeneration by tlie Holy Spirit, 
and the eternity of future rewards and 
punishments. But if there was any thing 
peculiar about him in this regard, it was, as 
may have been already inferred, that he was 
more inclined than many of his brethren to 
vitalize the doctrines. He deeply felt the 
obligation, and labored constantly to make 
them more and more practical. He was 
scrupulous to maintain the sentiment of hu- 
man ability. He was thoroughly imbued 
with the principle that faith without w^orks 
is dead. If possible, he seemed to like the 
dogmatic teachings of James better than 
those of Paul. At the same time he drew 
his chief inspiration from the example and 
laborious life of the great apostle to the 
Gentiles. Hence in all the social meetings 
of his brethren, if he thought any were in- 
clined to repose too much upon divine 
sovereignty and the grace of God, he was 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 201 



buman obligation and duty to make use of 
all appropriate means ; insisting that Christ- 
ians must be co-workers together with 
Christy if they would v/itness the progress of 
divine truths and secure the salvation of men. 
Hence his religion was eminently practicaL 
It seemed to amount with him at times 
even to a passion. For after he became too 
weak to be abroad at all^ he would be out 
often against the remonstrances of friends, 
distributing tracts, exhorting and praying 
with and for his neighbors. 

Long after his friends were convinced that 
his active labor on earth was done, he con- 
tinued to indulge and express the hope to 
do yet more for his Master. But when 
he was obliged to give up, he found 
much relief in communing with those spirits 
who had been most active in the vineyard of 
the Lord, reading the accounts of their 
labors. Vv^hitefield had ever been, among 
modern ministers, his great favorite. And 



202 WORSHIP AND WORK, 



in his last clays^ and while confined to his 
sick room^ he derived much satisfaction from 
the sermons of Spurgeon. But he never 
lost sight of his beau ideal of true Christian 
character in the humbler and more private 
walks of life. An incident, by way of illus- 
tration, occurred on his dying bed, and 
when, to all appearance, he must soon ex- 
pire. He was almost beyond the power of 
utterance. His pastor, who was at his bed- 
side, endeavored to comfort and cheer him 
with the glorious prospect immediately before 
him, by saying, ^^ You will soon be with 
Jesus Christ, and I trust there is no being in 
the universe whom you so ardently desire to 
see, and whose presence would give you so 
much pleasure." He faintly responded, in 
substance, '^ None but Christ." Then his 
pastor said again, '^ You v/ill also be glad to 
see Abraham, Daniel and Paul." He nod- 
ded assent, adding, in distinct tones, '^ And 
there is Harlan Page, too, I want to see 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 203 



him." And so he clied^ a lingering, painful 
death, expressing, as his last and most 
earnest desire, that he might, in some way, 
live to do good after he was dead, and pray- 
ing that Christians, in the common walks of 
life, mighc realize more deeply their obliga- 
tion and ability, even thongh possessed of 
limited talents and small mental culture, to 
accomplish more than they do for the ad- 
vancement of the cause of Christ in the 
world. 



I 
1 



204 WOr.iiHIP AND WOEK. 



C H A P T E E XX. 

TPIE ESTIMATE. 

Every character, like an accoiirit-book, has 
its debt and credit side, and, to be rightly 
estimated, needs its balance-sheet. " It is the 
case with some, that their accounts have been 
kept so irregularly that it is difficult to strike 
the balance, and to say whether they com- 
prise more of good or evil, or to decide 
whether they are Christian or unchristian. 
In some, it is easy to see that that which is 
evil and unchristian decidedly preponderates, 
while in others the balance is just as plainly 
in favor of what is good and Christian. Or 
rather, while all mankind are by nature 
bankrupt, — morally worse than nothing, — 
so that the books foot up decidedly against 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 205 



every one, some are able, and others are un- 
able, to exhibit the endorsement, provided in 
the gospel, v/liich perfectly cancels the ac- 
count with Him to Vvdiom all men ovre their 
life and salvation, without anything to pay. 
It is therefore a mistake to judge of one's 
character by any single act or even page in 
his life's day-book. The great question will 
turn on the final settlement, as to whether 
any, of all our sinful race^ have or have not 
found an interest in Jesus Christ, our surety. 
We have a saying that '^ one swallow does 
not make a summer ; " no more does a thaw 
in January. That is, we do not infer that 
summer has come because we see a stray 
swallow in April, much less because the 
mercury happens to rise to 70^ some day in 
January. Neither does a snow-bird or a 
frost make winter. That is, we should not 
infer that winter had come though we should 
happen to see a chicadedee, or the mercury 
falling to 30^ in July. Nay, it is not the 



206 WORSHIP AND WOEK. 



swallow at all that makes the summer, nor 
frost the winter. 

Thus it is just as true, that, as summer 
birds and winter frosts may be out of season, 
so individual opinions and deeds may be out 
of character. A bad man may perform a 
good deed, and be a bad man still. So a 
good man, and even a Christian, as, alas ! 
many a one has often done, may be left to 
perform a wrong act, and be a Christian still. 
The deed, it is true, is just as bad as if per- 
formed by a wicked man, and its influence 
all the worse in proportion to the goodness 
of the doer. Judas was a wicked man. 
Peter was a true Christian disciple. But 
neither did the treachery of the former, nor 
the latter's denial of his Master, impart to 
them their respective characters. Judas 
acted in character like a frost in winter, 
while Peter acted out of character, like a 
frost in summer. So the Bible estimates 



WORSHIP AIvJD WORK. 207 



character. And so the common sense of 
mankind soberly and practically judges. 

Now, as it may be said more or less of 
every Christian, whatever may have been the 
failings of Deacon Morse, they did not indi- 
cate his real character. They were blem- 
ishes, and, it may be, sins ; but they were 
out of character. Defects incident to his 
temperament, or constitution, and limited 
culture, were even magnified by contrast 
v/ith his usual Christian zeal. It is true 
that the vulgar would sometimes ridicule 
him. Sceptics would exaggerate his faults, 
and eat them as they eat bread. And his 
fellow Christians might occasionally call in 
question the wisdom of his plans and modes 
of operation. Nevertheless, his influence, 
after abating all detractions, was that of a 
sincere, devout, and ardent Christian. The 
sober and mature convictions of his fellow ' 
citizens are that his failings were far out- 
weighed by his earnest Christian faithful- 



208 -SVOESHIP A>'D WOKK. 



ness and perseverance. And now, that ■what- 
ever of unfavorable peculiarity in his per- 
sonal manners is removed, his influence will 
live only to promote the great cause of 
Christ and humanity which he so faithfully 
served. The impression which he made so 
favorably for good, while living, will be felt 
all the more powerfully now that he is dead. 

Colonel V was a townsman with 

Deacon Morse. They grew up together from 
their youth. The Colonel was a man gifted 
by nature with uncommon povrers of mind, 
well informed, the wealthiest man in the 
town during his day, and held important of- 
fices, both in the town and State Councils. 
He was one of the shrewdest observers, and 
a good judge of character. And to show his 
appreciation of the Christian character and 
worth of Deacon Morse, he once said, with 
much seriousness, to the writer of these pages : 
'^ I would give all that I possess in this world, 
if I was as good a man, and as fit to die, as I 



WOIISHIP AND WOBK. 209 



think Deacon Morse is." And to illustrate the 
esteem in which he was held by the young, it 
is related by one of a company of boys, who 
were proposing to play some unhandsome 
trick upon one of the Deacon's sons, that a 
part of them interposed, and put a stop to it, 
because they ^^ would not have a son of Deacon 
Morse imposed upon." So the boy escaped 
something probably not very agreeable for 
the time, by virtue of the regard of some of 
his companions for his good and venerable 
father. And all children may learn, from the 
incident, their indebtedness to Christian 
parents. 

The following letter from Rev. William 
Warren, formerly of Upton, now an agent 
of the American Board of Missions, shows 
the impression which Deacon Morse had left 
upon his mind : 

14 



210 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



^^GoRHAM, Me.^ June 18^ 1860. 
My Dear Brother : 

^^ I am glad to kno^y that you are preparing 
memorials of Deacon Morse. In all the cir- 
cle of my acquaintance^ I have never known 
the man more deeply imbued with the 
Christian spirit, or more faithfully employed 
in his Master's service, than he. * * * 

^^ His letters to my children were marked 
with deep solicitude for their tem.poral and 
spiritual welfare. Ee wrote without refer- 
ence to style or literary accuracy, but in a 
most serious, tender, but earnest and search- 
ing strain, such as left a deep impression, 
both upon children and their parents. The 
spirit of his letters was above the constraints 
of style, or any thing of the kind. 

*^ His only visit at my house was made while 
I was absent from home. A terrible thunder 
shower occured while he was there, contin- 
uinsr for a Ions: time. It was a scene of 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 211 



great grandeur and terror. The lightning 
struck several times near by. But his pres- 
ence seemed as an angel of protection. 
He was calm and happy ; he conversed with 
the children one by one during that terrible 
hour. He spoke to them ox the great God 
who made the earth to tremble^ and of their 
safety only in the ark of salvation. After he 
had conversed with each of them tenderly 
and faithfully^ he sang and prayed in the 
family, and commended them all to God. 
Such an exhibition of Christian calmness and 
faithfulness in such an hour of terror, made 
an impression upon my family that the lapse 
of time will never obliterate. 

^^ I do not recollect to have known the man 
whose piety was so inoffensive to the im- 
penitent, and yet urgent and over-flowing 
with faithfulness to them. He was so gentle, 
so unaffected, so unselfish, so unpresuming, 
so meek, and childhke, and charitable, that 
he disarmed prejudice and opposition in a 



212 WORSHIP AND WORK. 



moment. I regarded him as walking upon 
the high places of the earth. 

^^ He seemed as one who stood upon an emi- 
nence of influence, and attainment. I often 
felt that if the church on earth were like 
him and reflected the imasre of Christ as 

o 

faithfully as he did, that the prevalence of 
religion would be sure and speedy. 

In haste, yours most truly, 

W. 'nVarren." 

The following lines were addressed per- 
sonally to Deacon Morse during his last 
illness, and when, to all appearance, he could 
not long surviye. They were written by a 
young lady ofHopkinton, herself an invalid, 
who had for years been a member of the 
Sabbath School, under the deacon's superin- 
tendence. And they well express the feel- 
ings of his friends at the time, and constitute 
a fitting close to this narrative : 



WORSHIP AI^D Y\^OE,K. 213 



" Farewell, dear friend, thou 'rt going home ; 
Thine earthly toils are o'er ; 
And Jesus waits to welcome thee. 
Upon the heavenly shore. 

" Farewell, dear friend, the day-star beams, 
To light thine upward way 5 
And while we grieve to part with thee, 
We cannot bid thee stay. 

" But though we see thy face no more, 
While earthly scenes remain, 
And, as we speak the last fond words, 
Our spirits thrill w4th pain, — 

" Thy deeds of love, still unforgot. 
Shall dwell within our souls, 
And friendship keep the record bright, 
As time still onward rolls. 

" The youthful band, whom thou so long- 
Hast led in paths of peace, 
As future years around them throng, 
And toils and cares increase, 

" The sacred memory of thy name 
Within their souls shall keep, — 
A glorious and enduring fame, 
When thou in death shall sleep. 



214 



WORSHIP AND WORK. 



" Then, though our lips may say ' EarcwcU,' 
Yet love's dear hand hath twined 
Our spirits with a golden cord, 
Which death cannot unbind." 



^3 Juiv 



^•1. 



I 



I 



